Natural Individuals

"Natural Individuals," by Yunmi Her, is a VR artwork supported by the Jack Straw New Media Gallery, 4Culture Gallery and DXARTS (Digital Arts and Experimental Media) at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. It is premiering in the exhibition "Natural Individuals", from January 2-30 and February 14-March 27, 2020.

To experience it, you need a VR headset appropriate for your own smartphone. Download and open the "Natural Individuals" app to your smartphone. Specifically, if you go to the 4Culture Gallery during the exhibition, you can experience both virtual and installed actual ponds.

As you activate the app wearing a headset with your phone, You will find a small marker following your view in the dark with a waterfall sound in the first scene. When you place the marker on the small bright hole, it will become larger, and then a virtual pond will be revealed and come into your sight.

In Scene 2, you will chase the disappearing ladybug from your virtual pond and try to find it. This scene depicts our everyday internet experience searching for a keyword. Many various ladybugs are in this scene, and your view functions as a way to move forward to find the real ladybug which you lost.

What you have gotten from the internet searching will be shown in Scene 3, and you will reconsider about accuracy and objectivity of huge internet data that we experience every day.

About the Artist

Yunmi Her is a multimedia artist working with VR/AR, video installation, and sculpture. Her interest lies in the paradoxical relationship between individuals and society. Yunmi's work has been exhibited in Korea and the United States, including at the SOMA Drawing Center, Seoul Art Center, and San Diego Art Institute. She is a Ph.D. candidate in Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXARTS) at the University of Washington.

www.yunmi-her.com