Tentacular
The Agency of Speculative Fiction in Experiential Reality
Kristjan Buckingham
Project Description
Tentacular is a nonlinear interactive exploration of the agential capacity of media and the potentialities of speculative works, conveyed through a fictional narrative using AR-passthrough with a VR headset. Each pathway functions not as a branch of the story but as a tentacle with the agency to reach out and take hold of the user.
The fictional premise sets up the context for why the user is putting on the headset and engaging with these interactions. The device is said to be a calibration process used to determine whether the user is a viable candidate for permanent implementation of Experiential Reality.
What is reality, if not experience? Experiential Reality advances beyond the audiovisual elements of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to activate other sensory responses and minimize the dissonance between the virtual and the user's experience of reality, all without the need to peer through a screen or wear an external device.
BIO
Much of Kristjan's work is informed by his interest in the artistic and storytelling affordances which are specific to each medium, and how those respective limitations and possibilities inform the outcome and presentation of the work. Before moving to Toronto, Kristjan obtained his Bachelor of Design from MacEwan University in Edmonton, where he began working at the university-run record label Bent River Records in 2017. He continues to work with student interns and associates with the goal of creating collaborative opportunities between students and music industry professionals. He is also a freelance graphic designer, illustrator, video editor, and Augmented Reality developer.