Persephone VR
The driving force behind this project is an adventurous young girl who experiences time at its essence. Her name is Persephone. She is a passive character in the story you know, a victim of circumstance. Hades kidnaps her, tricks her, and forces her into a life she did not choose, in which she must live half the year in the Underworld. The Persephone I know is a hero of her story. She ate the pomegranates of her own accord and ventured to the Underworld on a journey to find herself and take ownership of her narrative. Why? As Joseph Campbell notes, a hero must leave one condition to become resurrected in a new state of consciousness (1998). This new state of consciousness requires a sacrifice. The Persephone I know sacrifices half her year in the living world to go on dream-like adventures in the Underworld.
I have created a modern version of this myth using VR technology. This object is called the Persephone One, an enchanted sleeping mask that takes users on a hero’s journey in their dreams. I have created a space for users to lie down and fall “asleep.” They will put on a VR headset and experience mythological stories inspired by Persephone.
The concept of this project is based on the writings of psychoanalyst Carl Jung and journalist Margaret Fuller. Jung and Fuller, both nativists, believed that knowledge and purpose come from within, much like a dream journey (Aldridge et al., 2011). Fuller, an avid Transcendentalist, believed that every person deserved to reach their full potential (Aldridge et al., 2011). The visual inspiration of this project comes from Surrealist photography and exemplifies myths through the use of symbolism. The visuals in the form of VR videos represent Persephone’s journey, the myth of Icarus, the mythology surrounding Diana, and the Underworld as examples of how heroic dream journeys could look. These myths are deeply embedded in our culture, and viewers will likely recognize them when they experience VR visuals. Since Persephone reminds
us of the changing seasons and the cyclical nature of time, each dreamscape represents a season: Persephone represents Spring, Icarus represents summer, Diana is Fall, and the Underworld represents winter.
Installation at Group Show: Ever After
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