Immersive VR Theater
Overview
Render Ghost is an original immersive VR theater work created by NAXS Corp (now known as NAXS STUDIO), envisions a sci-fi future where humanity gradually abandons the physical body and collectively transitions into the virtual world amid rapid technological advancement.
Adopting the techniques of ritual theater and Theatre of Images, the work immerses the audience in a speculative narrative, allowing them to embody future humans and embark on a poetic, ritualistic journey.
Category
VR Immersive Theater
New Media Art
Year
2015-2018
Showcase
2015 Taipei Shuiyuan Theater
2016 Songshan Cultural and Creative Park
2016 Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab
2017 Taipei Experimental Performance Space
2018 National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
2018 Beijing Time's Art Museum
Render Ghost is a VR immersive theater work that explores the gradual transition of humanity from physical existence to the virtual realm in the context of technological advancement. The piece presents a ritualistic narrative framed within a post-human mythos, depicting both the macrocosmic position of humanity in the process of evolution and information history, and the microcosmic experience of the audience as they become part of a fictional narrative, experiencing the moment when humanity, the last to possess physical bodies, will upload consciousness to the virtual network.
The work employs "rituality" as its core methodology, departing from traditional theater conventions that rely on fixed stages and actors. Instead, it weaves together technology, space, and narrative to make the audience the protagonist of the experience, with the interaction and perception among the audience members becoming part of the story itself.
Render Ghost is influenced by “Theater of Cruelty” of Artaud, the “ritual theater” of Grotowski, and the “Theatre of Images” of Romeo Castellucci, and seeks to explore the fusion of technological media with theatrical practice, attempting to break the boundaries of traditional theater to create a new form of performance experience.
The work unfolds in two stages. In the first stage, the audience members put on dust suits and VR headsets and enter a white tent. Guided by the VR display, they will see a towering spiral staircase and slowly begin to ascend. Although the audience climbs in the virtual world, their physical bodies actually remain in place in the theater, moving in circles, creating a contrast between the body and the virtual. As they ascend, the audience will gradually step into the memory data of the Anthropocene, eventually entering a data storm, symbolizing the moment when consciousness is uploaded.
In the second stage, the audience removes the headsets and enters an environment filled with smoke, flashing lights, loud sounds, and particles blown by strong winds. During this process, the audience gradually loses the sense of their physical bodies and merges with the presence of the other participants, becoming a collective network consciousness.
Render Ghost was awarded the First Prize at the Taipei Digital Art Performance Awards in 2015 and has since undergone multiple revisions and developments. It has been showcased at prominent venues, including the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts and the Times Art Museum in Beijing. The work has been nominated for the Lumen Prize and the Taishin Arts Award, and was presented in video form at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz.
Render Ghost Exhibition Timeline
2015
Render Ghost 1.0
Taipei Digital Art Performance Award
Taipei Shuiyuan Theater2016
Render Ghost Installation Version
Taipei Digital Art Festival
Songshan Cultural and Creative Park2016
Render Ghost 2.0
Taipei TAF Kongjian Base (Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab)2017
Render Ghost 3.0
Taipei Experimental Performance Space2018
Render Ghost 4.0
"Tailored Realities: The Charm of Digital Art"
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts2018
Render Ghost 4.0
"Holographic Writing: 2018 Cross-Media Art Festival"
Beijing Times Art Museum
Credits
