The ruins of Palmyra, otherwise Tedmor, in the desert. Robert Wood, 1771.

The Upper Side of the Sky (Virtual Reality) - 2019

Presented at InterAccess. Curated by Megan MacLaurin.

The Upper Side of The Sky is a virtual reality experience that investigates resurrecting archaeology and re-contextualizing nature, that are now endangered or non existent as a result of war and destruction. This digital ecosystem consists of a greenhouse, courtyard, chrysalis chamber, and other destroyed monuments from the ancient Syrian desert Palmyra. In the context of technology that is threatening nature, there is a chance for us to re-utilize it, as a provider of lives. Digitizing lost architecture and plant life, not to save them, but to give them an opportunity to live in different life forms, and to act as a record for future generations and to allow them the same access to create a world for them to exist in.  "Monuments, as embodiment of history, religion, art and science, are significant and complex repositories of cultural narratives” words by Roger Michel, the Executive Director of the Institute for Digital Archaeology. These cultural narratives play an important role in taking back control of these lost objects. The loss  of the monuments are irreplaceable, but their photo-realistic reconstruction offers us solace by walking the memories of the great monuments in their past. The lost reality of the temples are revived by digitally reconstructing their ghost images.

Audio: designed by Patrick Perez and Those Who From Heaven to Earth Came.

Technical Tools: Unity, Houdini Side FX, Photoshop & Steam.

Installation: Aleppo soap, dried butterflies, printed research board, analogue full colour holograms, VIVE VR headset, computer & projector.

360 video. Please toggle 4K for best viewing.

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