_Spaced Out

Spaced Out is an underwater VR experience in which participants can transport from the water to the surface of the moon, moving from space to abstract imagery. In this piece, participants use DiVR, an underwater VR snorkeling system, to float in a swimming pool as they embark on the narrative experience. Spaced Out uses original audio archives of the communication between three astronauts on the Apollo 11 mission juxtaposed with 3D visual depictions of outer space. Referencing the 1902 film A Trip to the Moon and images from the 19th century, Spaced Out is a journey across cultural imagination of what makes an “outer body experience.” Spaced Out leverages the sensation of floating to transport viewers in this journey. Often described as like a magic trick, this piece simulates the absence of gravity to bypasses the brain’s predispositions for an immersion of all senses.