The work uses virtual reality and non-linear sound composition technologies to poetically explore the presence of human beings in their environment. By wearing the headset, the viewer is immersed in a forest generated by point cloud data, which evolves according to their observational attitude and type of attention they give to it.

The experience begins in a virtual environment swept by wind, snow and fog. If the viewer moves slowly, the wind dies down and the fog dissipates. Various noises gradually emerge: a gurgling stream, a flutter of beating wings, a crackle or the rustle of dry grass underfoot. The more still the viewer becomes and simply observes, the more the micromovements of the forest become perceptible and multiply. Sounds and animals seem to come closer, birds appear, a woodpecker drums on a tree... This peaceful environment full of delicate details collapses as soon as the observer makes a sudden gesture. Then the storm returns, leaving only the fading shadows of volatile particles behind.

What struck me when I experimented with virtual reality was the impression that the body becomes an empty space: it exists and sees around it what it is proposed to see, but remains erased. This made me aware of an important and recurrent aspect of my work, an angle that I had never explicitly examined before, that of the presence that is nevertheless intrinsic to the use of interactivity and sound in my installations.
- Caroline Gagné

BIO

Living in Quebec City and Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Caroline Gagné graduated from Laval University with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (1998) and an interdisciplinary Master of Arts (2012). She has participated in the National Biennial of Contemporary Sculpture in Trois-Rivières, the Temps d’images festival (Montreal), the Saint-Jean-Port-Joli Sculpture Biennial, the Manif d’art biennial and the Mois Multi (Quebec City). Her works have also been exhibited at Occurrence (Montreal), Stewart Hall Art Gallery (Montreal), Sporobole (Sherbrooke), VU (Quebec City) and Action Art Actuel (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu). In 2011, her work CARGO earned her a Quebec City Award of Excellence in Arts and Culture.

Technical information

This artwork is built for the Oculus Rift. Please note that since this is an art project, optimization is non-existent and therefore requires higher technical capabilities. The project is known to run smoothly on a GTX 1080Ti.

Credits

Technological integration: Renaud Gervais

Recordings: Caroline Gagné and Christophe Havard

Original music: Christophe Havard

Composition of the sound environment: Caroline Gagné

Modelling of the virtual boulder and fabrication of the real sculptural element: Carl-Dave Lagotte

Co-production: Sporobole, 0/1-Hub numérique Estrie, La Chambre Blanche

With the support of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec