Mimi Jiao – Looking Outwards 10 – Section E

Claudia Hart, Inside the Flower Matrix, 2017

Claudia Hart is a new media artist who emerged as a part of the identity art movement. Her works center around observing identity, perception, and the physical being through the lens of technology. A work I particularly was interested in is virtual reality environment and sound installation Inside the Flower Matrix, 2017. This piece is a play on Alice in Wonderland in the digital age, where rationality and technology goes off-rail. There are multiple parts of this piece where viewers can experience it through a virtual reality app by pointing their camera at the artwork. In addition to the digital version, there are also hand thrown ceramics, quilts, wallpaper to accompany the experience. I am really impressed by the way that she has brought a digital environment into the real world and added instances of tangibility to further emphasize her idea. The way she has integrated items that the user can interact with and experience through touch and sound really drives her idea of the integration of technology with the human body. I really wish I could visit the real site installation of this piece – the online experience of this piece is nowhere as representative as it would be in the real space. It would be interesting to see her build a web and digital experience off of this piece.