Helen Keegan :: Blog :: LIBERATE YOUR AVATAR!

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to witness Paul Sermon’s latest interactive public video art installation incorporating Second Life users in a real life environment. The event took place in All Saints Gardens, Oxford Road, Manchester, for the Urban Screens Festival. The description on Paul’s site is as follows:

“The merged realities of ‘All Saints Gardens’ on Oxford Road, and its online three-dimensional counterpart in ‘Second Life’ will, for the first time, allow ‘first life’ visitors and ‘second life’ avatars to coexist and share the same park bench in a live interactive public video installation. Entering into this feedback loop through a portal between these two parallel worlds this event exposes the identity paradox in Second Life. ‘Liberate your Avatar’ examines this new crisis and reflects the history of ‘All Saints Gardens’, relocating Emmeline Pankhurst as an avatar within ‘Second Life’ where she remains locked to the railings of ‘All Saints Gardens’.”

Does this sound as good to you as it did to me? It certainly didn’t disappoint...

Quite a crowd had gathered, sat in the park, watching ourselves on a huge screen – together with avatars! Using clever trickery (i.e. chromakeying) Paul had us all mixing together… at least we were when we looked at the screen. It was so engaging that we forgot the avatars weren’t actually there physically. The visual blend of ‘us’ (real) and ‘them’ (virtual) was incredibly powerful – hey, they were even sitting on our knees! – that I think we all felt as if we were all in the same space. The mix of RL and SL on the screen was so compelling that the sensation of being ‘there’ – or the avatars being ‘here’ felt…. Well, almost normal I suppose. A glimpse into the future…?

Emmenline Pankhurst even put in an appearance - chained the railings as she had been in this very park 100 years ago… so we were, in a sense, reliving history through our very own feedback loop. The potential for this kind of project in terms of history education is pretty obvious.

One of the things I loved about the whole event was that it was staged in a public space, and anybody could partake – which they did. Oh yes, we had the lot – including the odd resident drunk, one of whom couldn’t quite get a grip on what was happening so watched himself on the screen pouring his Special Brew onto an avatar… who wasn’t actually there. The wonderful Carol Batton also turned up, and added her own inimitable take on proceedings. Carol is a very well-known Manchester poet and a bit of local legend really. Brilliant woman and I can’t wait to read her poems based on this event – she was quite taken by the whole thing ;-)

So big thanks for Paul for this event/installation. It was very special indeed – and a welcome burst of inspiration for all those who were lucky enough to be there and have an interest in Second Life.

BRING ON THE FUTURE.