Visual Poetics by Debora Alanna

Visual Poetics” – an installation by Debora Alanna – will be showcased on Friday, the 26th of May, from 1:00 until 5:00 PM in room 314 at Concordia’s Visualization Studio, 1445 De Maissoneuve Blvd. W, Montreal. There will be projections and videos, and a live stream from VR via Mozilla Hubs. Visitors to the Visualization Studio will have the option to experience psychogeographies in a headset; online audiences can experience the work on a computer screen or via a VR Headset. There will be a sister event happening simultaneously in the VRChat Odyssey Gallery, featuring images and video from the project.

“Virtual Poetics” is the result of Debora’s work with Virtual Reality spaces during the BBMC’s VR Forward project.

“Visual Poetics” has provided an opportunity to advance VR by creating psychogeographies as visual poetics. Virtual Reality (VR) / Mixed Reality exploration enabled the elucidation of ideas about the poetics of space through the use of the virtual reality software Tiltbrush, Open Brush, Styly, Blender, and Unity. Mainly, VR was created in Tiltbrush and Open Brush, using software ‘brushes’ and imported sounds. The sounds responded to the brushes within the software. Additionally, and integral to the visualization of poetics through these VR environments, was the integration of music and soundscapes. This sound was created with ambient sound recordings, as well as original music by collaborating artists. The sound instigated psychogeography insights through VR paint/drawing responses, reflected in the titles of each work. Imports of OBJ files from laser scans, microscopic imagery, digitally created objects, and 2d images made into 3d objects, were integrated into over two hundred VR environments, resulting in a unique explorations of poetic psychogeography.” 

Main Collaborator:

Musical Collaborators:

  • Barry Chabala (original music/soundscapes)
  • Roy Green (original music/soundscapes & 3d objects)
  • Tyr Jami (original music/soundscapes)
  • Lance Austin Olsen (original music/soundscapes & 3d objects)
  • Andre Furlani (original voice clips)

“Virtual Poetics” is a commission of the BBMC that has been made possible thanks to the support of the Digital Now program of the Canada Council for the Arts | Conseil des arts du Canada