​Done by AUG 2018

Unity, Substance Painter, Arduino

Flora is an interactive installation created by a group of Unity collaborators in Brooklyn, NY. It was presented in August, 2018 at Java Studios.

My role: model-building, substance-painting, optimizing the the environment

Flora is a multimedia experience that aims to confront viewers with the rotting relationship between humans (nature) and technology. When a user enters the gallery, they first see a large projection on the back wall. In front of the projection, are old-school CRT monitors accompanied by a strange remote control with knobs, lights, and switches.

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The projection puts the user in the POV of a wanderer, moving through a beautiful forest scene with rays of sunlight piercing the canopy of oak and pine trees, lush undergrowth and mossy rock formations. But amid the trees, there are assemblages of (virtual) TV screens, reminiscent of a Nam June Paik installation, but in a state of decay, with broken screens, foliage overtaking them, slowly being reclaimed by nature. The screens still function, illuminating the surrounding trees and adding their soundtrack to the ambiance of the forest. On the screens are various examples of how we are slowly entertaining ourselves to death.

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On the physical screen on the plinth, the same content plays as the virtual screens. The remote control blinks and flashes, inviting visitors to turn the knobs and switches and press the buttons. When they do so, they will be interacting with the world, changing the channel on the TVs, adjusting the reception, and perhaps making changes to lighting, speed of travel, etc. The forest responds to each channel; when the channel lands on a NASA launch, small debris hovers up from the forest floor as if gravity has temporarily deactivated. When the Weather Channel is on the screen, it begins to rain.

Every Nth channel shows a live feed from inside the gallery, showing the backs of the visitors, hopefully creating the feeling of being trapped inside the television.