On Sight
2017
On Sight is a participatory performance developed using webVR.
It is a part of the performance series The Act of Receiving.
Click here to read about the series.
This is a durational performance piece where I sit in a virtual reality headset, but have no control of what I see. My audience can decide from either online or at the site of the performance to show me any videos, or to reveal their faces and talk to me through their webcams. They will be able to see what I am seeing in VR at the moment, and a live stream of my reaction to their content.
Once the video/webcam footage is submitted, it will be immediately mapped onto the four “walls” in my virtual environment, so I will not be able to look away from any point of view. The videos would keep on playing in loop, until another one is submitted.
My view from inside the headset:
The questions I wanted to ask:
What’s the power dynamic in VR like? How does VR affect our sense of vulnerability?
I find the question of vulnerability in VR particularly interesting. One is placed in this "almost-reality" environment, yet feeling more exposed than reality. One is constantly worried about falling out of balance, or being frightened by something unexpected.
When I tried the social VR application Facebook Spaces, I was intrigued that one user has the power to change another’s virtual environment immediately and completely, simply because we are Facebook friends, and we agree to be in this app together.
I wonder, as we move toward a more immersive future, will receiving information, in extreme forms like this, ever require a “button" of consent?
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Here is an early user test done using the Unity Engine. In the left window, my user is dragging my “view” from ground level up. In the right window, you can see my “worldview” is being ascended as I continue to look around in a VR headset.
Technology used:
webVR (THREE.js)
webvr360 library
socket.io
On Sight is the Act I of performance series The Act of Receiving.
What’s the power dynamic in VR like? How does VR affect our sense of vulnerability?
I find the question of vulnerability in VR particularly interesting. One is placed in this "almost-reality" environment, yet feeling more exposed than reality. One is constantly worried about falling out of balance, or being frightened by something unexpected.
When I tried the social VR application Facebook Spaces, I was intrigued that one user has the power to change another’s virtual environment immediately and completely, simply because we are Facebook friends, and we agree to be in this app together.
I wonder, as we move toward a more immersive future, will receiving information, in extreme forms like this, ever require a “button" of consent?
Here is an early user test done using the Unity Engine. In the left window, my user is dragging my “view” from ground level up. In the right window, you can see my “worldview” is being ascended as I continue to look around in a VR headset.Technology used:
webVR (THREE.js)
webvr360 library
socket.io
On Sight is the Act I of performance series The Act of Receiving.
Exhibitions:
I began the project aiming to let my audience control my entire virtual environment. Things I imagined inclunded 1) changing my virtual ground, skybox, lighting, scale, etc.2) showing me something from online 3) revealing their faces to talk to me.
After multiple rounds of user testing, and considering any interaction available in VR today is still under early development, it became clear the most effecient way to achieve the effects I wanted was using the webVR technology, and restricting the options for my audience to either showing me a YouTube video, or to talk me through webcam.