Where to?
An augmented reality experience to see a place in a different light.
An augmented reality experience to see a place in a different light.
A site specific installation to experience (see) the place in a different light. Using augmented reality to realise this transition in the space through an object of everyday usage—mobile phone.
The project was exhibited at Eyemyth festival, August 2017
Feb - March 2017
Classroom project
How might we bring an element of serendipity and wonder to our everyday lived spaces?
The project intends to touch upon a nostalgic wish to surrender in the present, with a wish to travel a step further in the future. Using ladder as a manifestation of that one leap of thought, brought forth by delicate small steps one takes on the ladder; in the world.
Round and round,up and many a downs
helter-skelter,at times, in ‘here’ a shelter.
The name of the project "Where to"? asks a pertinent (and reflective) question to self and people experiencing the installation.
Ladder (physical + metaphorical) is used as vehicle to bring this imagined transition to an everyday lived space/s using Augmented Reality as the mode of interaction of the experience.
Ladder has multiple associations in different cultures and context. The project employed its universally understood meaning of upwards movement for building a gamified narrative
The viewer rotates in a circle, receiving visual cues as she moves in a circle. On completion of a circle, she discovers the cue for an ascent onto the ladder.
Once the imagined realities at A, B and C have been observed, the second viewing will reveal the imagined reality at the same place with additional layers (eg: sound, motion).
The cue at D, asks the observer to climb the ladder and ascent to the culmination of the experience. On climbing, a visual cue for placing the phone helps observe the experience.
With the campus at NID, Gandhinagar, India as the chosen site for the augmented reality experience, a series of sketches were drawn on top of the photographs of the campus as part of the process to derive the style and tone of the altered visual experience. This was super fun and loads of hours were spent with coloured markers on black and white photographs of the campus to augment it with vivid alternate realities. The splash of bold colours complemented the concrete greys of the architecture really well.
The artworks that appears on scanning the phone cyclically on the site.
Conceptualising through prototypes
The project went through a series of changes, as I prototyped. Prototyping helped in site selection, seeing through the end to end narrative and interactions.
Augmented Reality Basics
This was the first time I worked on a project involving augmented reality as a means to create a narrative. The project helped me understand the limitations and possibilities with the same
Exhibition Feedback
I got valuable feedback from people when the project was exhibited at Eyemyth. The experience of interacting with people is something I cherish.
Future Possibilities
The project can expand in multiple ways
• A treasure hunt app experience with serendipitous discoveries.
• A collaboration between various artists to render their vision of a place.
• A travel app augmenting recommendations through serendipitous visuals.
As a part of an academic enquiry in New Media Design at National Institute of Design, India in 2017. Under the guidance of Jignesh Khakhar and Suvani Suri with technical help of Ashish Dubey.
