Staphyloculus (or the paradox of site specificity of virtual realities), 2017
VR experience for HTC Vive
A Virtual Reality experience that attempts to recreate the first known outbreak of Polywobbly Fervenitis. The experience is based on live footage found on the site in Joshua Tree, California, that depicts the artist getting infected while attempting to setup a complete VR rig under scorching sunlight.
by Theo Triantafyllidis
Sound Design: Holly Waxwing
On Site team: Jenny Rodenhouse, Eli Joveta, Lander
Additional Photogrammetry: Régis Boissenin
Commissioned by NRW-Forum Dusseldorf, Germany
IMAGES
VIDEO LINK
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Theo Triantafyllidis (b. 1988) is an artist and architect from Greece. He got his MFA from UCLA, Design | Media Arts by presenting a guide called “how to everything” as his thesis, under scholarships by UCLA and the Onassis Foundation. Earlier, he got his diploma of architecture from the National Technical University of Athens. Humor, lush visuals and gaming tropes provide an entry point to his work. Computer simulations, improvisations and failures, awkward interactions and precarious physics are employed to produce visual gags. By manipulating emerging technologies, he is searching for their potential emotional impact and the designated limits of their use, often trying to break them. Webpages, virtual and augmented reality, games and interactive installations are his mediums of choice for this.
At the point of their climax, his pieces often become overwhelming, exaggerated or outrageous, trying to expose the audience to the underlying themes that inform his practice. These are strongly related to internet culture and include isolation, sexuality, violence, addiction and fear of missing out. Together with a general overflow of information and its nonsensical nature, this is the part of the internet that he considers the context for his work. He has shown work in museums, including the Hammer Museum in LA and NRW Forum, in Dusseldorf, DE and various galleries such as Sargent’s Daughters, Young Projects, New Wight and Intelligentsia Gallery in North America, Europe and Asia. He was also part of Hyper Pavilion in the 2017 Venice Biennale. Theo Triantafyllidis is based in LA.
If you are interested in exhibiting or viewing this artistic VR experience, please send an email to us.
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