The Glad Scientist (Daniel Sabio)

Justin Time, 2019

VR experience for HTC Vive

How can we contextualize our quantum existence in a relatable way? If we are existing in the past, present, and future at the same moment, what new questions would we have for time? How would it feel to embody time itself? These are the questions asked by the artwork.

 

Justin Time is a poetic virtual reality installation personifying the concept of time. Based on research in quantum field theories and their implication on the human experience, it provides a means of transport to a multiplicity of realities and questions the underpinnings of existence as an identified self.

 

The installation is realized through poetry and virtual reality. Upon the walls of the installation, poetry is painted as letters to a character embodying time (Justin Time), inquiring about its mysteries and indulging it with imaginative possibilities. Within virtual reality, a participant embodies Justin, and is given the ability to travel between different time-spaces and freely and openly explore the environments within, absorbing the content as both the human they are and the embodied form they have acquired.

 

While a participant is in the virtual reality experience, other viewers of the piece are invited to recite the texts on the walls aloud. This is designed to amplify the quantum existence of the realities in the room and the headset, provide additional context to the non-linear narrative, and create a group-unifying experience for all viewers, even those who may not wish to enter the virtual reality portion of the piece.

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ABOUT THE ARTIST

The Glad Scientist (Daniel Sabio) is a Berlin-based Puerto Rican artist, programmer, and VJ. Considered among the pioneers of virtual reality music, his works range from live audiovisual performances and multichannel sound installations to brain/heart/blink controlled artworks and immersive video game experiences. These creations, while heavily technical, seek to incite new questions about our futures and technology’s (in)ability to make us (un)expectedly more human.

 

In recent years, his work has been welcomed at international festivals and symposiums including ISEA (International Symposium of Electronic Art), SXSW (South by Southwest), Bass Coast Festival, VRHAM!, FILE (Festival Internacional de Linguagem Eletrônica), ACE (Advances in Computer Entertainment), and IAM Weekend, among others. It has been awarded placement in Oculus Launchpad, Art Omi:Music Fellowship, Berlin Sessions Residency, ARTnSHELTER AiR, and Zoo Labs Music Accelerator.

 

His collaborators are diverse, representing the breadth of his talents, with representation from musicians, visual artists, and technologists, as well as university research groups and design firms. He is a founder of the Art in Tech Atlanta Meetup and VLSC Records, an international indie label.

If you are interested in exhibiting or viewing this artistic VR experience, please send an email to us.

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