I have curated a faculty show (Spooky Interactions at a Distance) at the Sprinkler Factory to showcase our interactive works from the year, where this piece will live.

“Case 01011: an Uncanny, age unknown,” is one ‘arrangement’ in a series spanning several years. The age old question of what is art versus what is life, is here more intimately entwined with recent arguments regarding the nature of the ludic within the context of the contemporary art space. Ulm invites participants to ignore the boundaries of the exhibit space and ask what has it meant in the past, and what could it mean now, to “take a piece home” with you, and are there limitations to how and why one lives with art in a period where we stream our music, broadcasts, and games; an ‘original’ has new meaning; multi-participant and cooperative pieces are gaining popularity; and intimacy has returned to the role of spectator?

My piece, “Case 01011: an Uncanny, age unknown” is an interactive narrative explored through physical and digital space. It is something like an ARG (alternate reality game), with several individual pieces to investigate, crossing over from physical to online spaces and weaving back together to reveal a bit more about the mystery of this missing ‘other,’ this “Uncanny” who has mysteriously disappeared but is being sought by potentially unscrupulous parties.

=== SPOILER === materials & process === SPOILER ===

I will not reveal the entire story, but I wrote a tale about a young female known only as the Uncanny by those interested in locating her. She has left a series of items which may be used to reveal what has become of her — not necessarily revealing her location to those searching.

Beyond the story, the character, and the interwoven details, I also crafted a journal capturing her year leading up to the events, location blueprints, a series of tracked avatar video journals, a collection of drawings with my own mix of scratch-off paint, small sculptures with hidden features, and a theatrical set housed within a tent (and slightly spilling outward from it). I also designed unique QR codes to be hidden in an antique mini-photo album, a few webpages with clues and meaning, and a Discord server as well as a bot I coded to respond in my absence to those persistent enough to reach various portions of the clues.

Ultimately, only the most determined (and perhaps like-minded when it comes to seeing solutions and patterns) will reach the final conclusion and reveal. And that last portion is handled by me, in character, an intimate, emotional engagement. For this particular showing, three people completed it all the way, and speaking with them was one of the most rewarding, fascinating experiences I have had between artist and viewer/participant!

http://sprinklerfactory.com/events/spooky-interaction-at-a-distance/