Embracing Places
CLICK HERE to watch the presentation
The project received the Honorary Mention at the CultTech x Ars Electronica Award in 2024.
There is something that touches us all when we let go of our resistance and share a hug. Embracing Places uses immersive technology and body practice to foster connection, solidarity, and appreciation of artistic and cultural heritage.
The project actively involves residents and the unique landscapes of small towns, creating site-specific, community-based artworks that resonate with the emotional significance of each place, establishing an archive of different hugs and a network of towns.
The audience participates in a 360° Virtual Reality experience, where residents of small towns are filmed performing simple gestures like hugging in meaningful local locations. Wearing VR headsets, users are invited to mirror these gestures, transforming their movements into a personal, intimate experience. Spectators without headsets witness the participants’ synchronized movements, creating a live performance that blurs the boundaries between the virtual and physical worlds.
The project emphasizes the importance of preserving local culture and fostering empathy in an age of digital interaction. By highlighting the unique ways different communities express connection, Embracing Places aims to address issues of isolation and bring awareness to the cultural richness of underrepresented towns, creating a living archive of shared, universal gestures.
Embracing Places
CLICK HERE to watch the presentation
The project received the Honorary Mention at the CultTech x Ars Electronica Award in 2024.
There is something that touches us all when we let go of our resistance and share a hug. Embracing Places uses immersive technology and body practice to foster connection, solidarity, and appreciation of artistic and cultural heritage.
The project actively involves residents and the unique landscapes of small towns, creating site-specific, community-based artworks that resonate with the emotional significance of each place, establishing an archive of different hugs and a network of towns.
The audience participates in a 360° Virtual Reality experience, where residents of small towns are filmed performing simple gestures like hugging in meaningful local locations. Wearing VR headsets, users are invited to mirror these gestures, transforming their movements into a personal, intimate experience. Spectators without headsets witness the participants’ synchronized movements, creating a live performance that blurs the boundaries between the virtual and physical worlds.
The project emphasizes the importance of preserving local culture and fostering empathy in an age of digital interaction. By highlighting the unique ways different communities express connection, Embracing Places aims to address issues of isolation and bring awareness to the cultural richness of underrepresented towns, creating a living archive of shared, universal gestures.
