About This Project

In 2016, I embarked on an ambitious journey to explore the concept of digital identity through an interactive 3D art installation. This project, which utilized Unity and the Twitter API, was a deep dive into the expansion of the organic body into the digital realm, creating meta-identities and exploring the virtual body in a digital multiverse. My work was recognized with the Cultural Innovation Award by the Secretaría de Cultura de Buenos Aires, showcased as part of the collective performative art show that garnered thousands of attendees between May and June of 2017 at Centro Cultural Recoleta during the Bienal de Performance BP17 and Bienal de Arte Joven.

Concept and Vision

Usuario (User) was more than just an installation; it was an exploration of identity in the age of digital proliferation. The project questioned the very nature of the user as a person and as an operative entity, delving into how we use digital platforms to extend our identities across multiple virtual universes. This installation was a tribute to the seamless blend between our physical existence and our digital extensions, offering a critique and celebration of our current digital epoch.

Technical Details

Development Tools: Created using Unity for the 3D interactive environment and integrated with the Twitter API to pull live tweets, allowing real-time audience interaction.
Interactive Elements: The installation featured animated virtual avatars and a live stream of tweets under a specific hashtag, enabling participants to contribute to a collective digital identity.
Conceptual Foundation: Focused on the idea of users as identity prosthetics, the project explored how digital avatars and online profiles serve as extensions of our physical selves, allowing us to inhabit and interact within multiple digital spaces simultaneously.

Impact and Recognition

Awarded for Cultural Innovation, this project was a reflection on the contemporary digital landscape, where virtual spaces offer vast social, ludic, commercial, and professional opportunities. It highlighted the dual reality we inhabit—physical and virtual—and the seamless interactions between the two, as evidenced by phenomena like the global impact of augmented reality games.

Inspiration and Goal

The installation aimed to provoke thought on the construction of meta-identities and the role of virtual bodies in digital spaces. Inspired by the notion of multiverses and the augmented reality technologies that blur the lines between online and offline worlds, Usuario invited participants to reconsider the relationship between their organic bodies and digital identities. It was a critique of the dystopian visions of the future, offering instead a personal and contemporary perspective on our evolution towards virtuality.

Conclusion

Usuario stands as a testament to the power of interactive art to engage with and comment on the complexities of digital identity. By inviting audience participation through real-time tweets, the installation blurred the boundaries between creator and spectator, highlighting the collective nature of digital identity construction. This project not only help me showcase my technical skills in integrating Unity with social media APIs but also express my deep engagement with contemporary cultural and social issues.

Press & Media Coverage

The "Antihomenaje Dadá" project has garnered significant attention from various media outlets, highlighting its cultural impact and innovative exploration of dadaist themes. Below is a selection of articles and features that delve into the project's significance and its reception:

BP17: Antihomenaje Dada: 101 Años del Cabaret Voltaire
Frieze: BP17 Review
Centro Cultural Recoleta: Antihomenaje Dadá
Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires: Antihomenaje Dadá en el Recoleta
Facebook Event: Inauguración Antihomenaje Dadá
Cultura Sin Spoilers: Antihomenaje Dadá en el Centro Cultural Recoleta
Metropolis: La Perfomance Colectiva Antihomenaje Dadá Toma las Salas del Centro Cultural Recoleta
Bienal de Buenos Aires Blog: Antihomenaje Performático
Sobre Libros y Cultura: Antihomenaje Dadá
Bienal Comunidad: Florencia Solari: Artist Profile

Read the full article I wrote on my medium about the concept behind this experience.

Usuario | Cultural Innovation Award | Unity3D