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Imaginary Friend
Writer, 3D Modeler | VR + AR Art Installation
Both Imaginary Friends and VR + AR are only visible by their creators, invisible to everyone else.
I explored this sense of childhood reality through an immersive art installation at the Center for Collaborative Arts and Media (CCAM).
CCAM
I'm an only child. I obviously had imaginary friends growing up.
Imaginary Friend transports the viewer back in time—back to the age of fairy tales and make-believe monsters. When the audience member first puts on the headset, they are confronted with a large monster sitting in the middle of the gallery.
A Big, Purple Meditation on the Passing of Time
As the viewer steps closer to the VR creature, they watch the imaginary friend grow complexity and fidelity. Once the viewer begins walking past their imaginary friend, Mister Rogers' "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" begins playing, and the monster starts crying.
Making friends is tough. Making friends is tougher.
To bring my imaginary friend to life, I 3D-modeled the character in Maya and then programmed him in Unity.
It's been lovingly described as "the frightening lovechild of Barney and a silverback gorilla," but I love him.
Putting the AR in ImaginARy.
After moving to New York in 2023, I took my Imaginary Friend with me through an ongoing AR project throughout NYC. The art piece is a return to childhood, as I meditate on how this character invisibly interacts with my enviornment.
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