As a digital media artist with a fascination for open, interactive cyber environments, I create works that merge reality with the digital. "Campus Goes Digital" is a virtual reality installation that signifies the transition from in-person learning to online classes, combining the actual layout of the university's campus with a digital representation of its buildings.The viewer is seated on the provided couch (as if he or she is "at home") when using the VR headset. As the viewer wears the headset, they are transported into a virtual and altered replication of San Jose State University's campus, where they can walk around and explore the vast campus to their heart's content - all from the comfort of the couch. The digital campus is composed mainly of white, except for the buildings, which are composed of screenshots of its respective website or social media pages. Listening carefully, the viewer can hear the "sounds of the internet" buzzing perpetually in the digital environment, the noises we are all too familiar with when attending Zoom meetings or conversing with fellow peers on Discord.
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As a digital media artist with an interest in the ever-evolving digital era as well as a fascination for open, interactive cyber environments, I create works that merge reality with the digital. I work across a range of software, such as Blender and Adobe Premiere Pro, exploring ways in which the world can be seen through a digital lens using auditory cues, symbolism, and visual experiences to enhance the audience's senses. The works I create celebrate the advancement and milestones of virtual and augmented reality. Inspired by video games such as Resident Evil and Skyrim, I immerse the audience into a world of diverse possibilities and genres ranging from horror to comedy to realism, as well as themes such as digital dependency or cyber capitalism. My works move beyond what was typically thought about in virtual environments, and I strive to invent new ways in which VR and AR can complement - or contrast - reality. I invite my viewers to carefully soak in the senses and experiences of the digital world that will - in due course - become the future reality.
