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Experience House
Experience House was an exhibition that experimented with diverse mediums and modes of 'immersion'. For KHOJ, what began with explorations of Live Art, Sonic Art, Fashion, Theatre and a sustained interest in Gaming, found its pathway into 'immersion'. Through this exhibition the artists used the immediate space KHOJ occupies to create immersive environments for the audiences to dwell in and experience.
About this programme
Open Studio: 6:30 PM Onward, Thursday, 17th November 2016.
ARTIST’S TALK: Pors and Rao (Soren Pors and Aparna Rao), Friday, 18th November 2016 at 11:00 AM.
Experience House was on view at Khoj Studios till 20th November, 2016.
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We often think of physical space as a three dimensional entity that exists between objects. Although this entity may contain “nothing” but air, we conceive of it as physically ascertainable, malleable, and constructible. We experience sensations in space and define our perception of the world by our relationship to that space. This notion of “nothingness” attributed to space poses some exciting questions – Is space actually an entity, a relationship between our senses and physical objects, or an abstract concept? Can we define, create, and manipulate space to create aesthetic experiences?
The sense of immersion has been approached and explored in more ways than one, but there is no set or universally agreed upon definition for this term because all approaches converge on the word ‘immersion’ from different knowledge sectors. The term is widely used for describing immersive virtual reality, installation art, and video games, but no one meaning dominates. Its meaning remains vague, but common to each meaning is the connotation of being absorbed, engaged, and embraced.
Our own path to this experiment with experience, is long drawn and complex . For KHOJ, what began with explorations of Live Art, Sonic Art, Fashion, Theatre and, more recently, a sustained interest in Gaming, eventually led to this domain of Immersion. What would it mean to occupy our own physical structure? Can we imagine it in a parallel universe, living an alternate life? The invitation thereby was to use KHOJ and the immediate space it occupies to then create Immersive Environments for the audiences to dwell in and experience; participate in and contribute towards building.
Immersion is by no means a new concept. It has found various iterations across cultural history — stream of consciousness literature, cinema, contemporary virtual reality, video games etc. Immersion transcends the inability of a cultural medium to provide a near-real experience to the viewer. It is a means of making the viewer, a witness and participant in the event, the show, the arrangement, in the most involved manner, blurring all traditional boundaries between the actor and the spectator, the watcher and the watched.
The three projects within this programme experimented with diverse mediums and modes of Immersion.
