VERTICAL SCALE
Carincur, João Pedro Fonseca

Project commissioned by ModaLisboa that resulted in a VR experience and interactive installation called “Vertical Scale.” Seven Portuguese fashion designers provided pieces that were subjected to a digitization process and integrated into the virtual reality application. The VR experience allows users to manipulate the pieces, creating surreal landscapes.

Description
In an increasingly digitized world, data has become a driving force of transformation, causing a revolution in our understanding of concepts deeply rooted in the anthropomorphic sphere. This phenomenon leads us to explore a territory where objects, accessories, and clothing are not mere appendages of the human body but rather autonomous entities, unbound by the limitations of the body, and they come to life in the digital dimension. In this context, emerges as a hybrid project, a union between the physical world and virtual reality. Seven fashion designers, each with their unique vision and creativity, contributed seven original clothing pieces, serving as the foundation for this unique VR experience. These pieces, once confined to physical reality, underwent a digitization process using 3D scanning technology. It is crucial to understand that this process does not seek to create something new or break with past traditions. Instead, it strives to extend and deepen the present, making it more aware of the idea of continuity and mutability. Each digitized clothing piece maintains a connection with its physical counterpart, preserving a unique essence, but also transcends its material limitations, adopting an existence beyond the physical. VERTICAL SCALE explores its potential in a variety of contexts, such as virtual reality, installation, and performance. In this multidisciplinary scenario, transition and transformation become central elements and challenge our understanding of matter and traditional archetypes. It transports us to a universe where the boundaries between the physical and the digital fade away. It is an experience that leads us to explore the intersections between fashion and technology, an invitation to contemplation and innovation, challenging us to embrace a future where the boundary between the human and the virtual becomes increasingly invisible.

Keys reasearch
post-nature; processed memory; transmutative artifacts

Used technology
3d scanning; virtual reality; artificial intelligence

Format
virtual reality app; interactive installation; performance

Credits
Artist direction and performance: Carincur, João Pedro Fonseca
Design concept, interaction design,Sound creation and script: Carincur
Design concept, 3D modeling and 3D scannings: João Pedro Fonseca
Virtual environments and Lighting: Pedro Ribeiro
VR and audio programming and 3D animation: Filipe Baptista

Produced by ZABRA
Comissioned by ModaLisboa for Workstation new media
Video about the process