VRwandlung
‘As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect-like creature.’ This is how one of the most well-known narratives of the 20th century finds its beginning, ‘ The Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka. In this installation called ‘VRwandlung’, hosted by the MOCA Taipei and organized by the Goethe Institute Taipei one awakes, thanks to modern VR-technology, as a huge insect in a reconstructed room, true to the original.
From a book page into virtual reality
Kafka’s narrative ‘The Metamorphosis’ focuses on the feelings of Gregor Samsa, who one morning finds himself in the body of a beetle, not knowing how it all came to pass. How is he supposed to deal with the situation: How will his parents react? What will his boss have to say about it? Kafka’s expressionist story, even after a hundred years, provides no definite answers. The installation however brings the poor man back to life in the fantastic framework of virtual reality and endeavours to let us answer his questions ourselves.
‘VRwandlung’ turns Franz Kafka’s work from a book page into a virtually real experience. ‘The hero however is not Gregor Samsa anymore, but ourselves’, explains director Mika Johnson, who originally created ‘VRwandlung’ with his young startup-group for the Goethe Institute Prague.
Being Gregor Samsa
And really that is how it feels: You slip into the comfortable slippers with the odd looking sensors on their tips, get outfitted with headphones, hand movement controllers and of course the VR-headset. For a couple of seconds you remain in total darkness. Then it begins: a light blinks and you find yourself in the year 1915, in Gregor Samsa’s room in the old town of Prague and in a totally different body.
The attention to detail and absolute authenticity of the installation is what makes “VRwandlung” unique. The book titles on Gregor Samsa’s desk correspond to those which the real Kafka supposedly read and even the smallest thing, such as the wallpaper in the room is modelled after Kafka’s narrative.
Note :
Experience duration is 15 minutes for each (includes instruction and
setting up time ). Please follow the directions given by the staff.
The participants should report to the reception at MOCA U12 five
minutes before experience time. Late arrival participants (more than
five minutes ) will not be allowed to participate, and the vacancy will
be released to the waiting audience.
The work contains insect images and special sound effect. For the security reason, children under 12 years of age must be accompanied by a parent/ the parents.
Pregnant women, patient with heart disease, high blood pressure, or
not feeling generally well, is advised to consider carefully his/her
health conditions before experiencing.
The Museum reserves the right to modify the experience and registration procedure.