Inside My Head (2019), Tan Sher Lynn, VR Installation at Bishop's Court
The works chosen for the exhibition are part of the Inside My Head project, a semester long research project on the topic of depression. After a comprehensive research on the representation of the mental disorder in the media, studying them in relation to the collected personal narratives from the public, it was found that there were many recurring metaphorical expressions that was used to describe depression in both personal media and individual narratives. While the audio piece is a more straightforward interpretation of my research, the virtual environment is a more abstract visualization based on the metaphorical phrases of the collected narratives.
The Silent Voices (2019), Tan Sher Lynn, Audio Installation at Bishop's Court
Preparation of Exhibition Space
The exhibition space affects the perception of the exhibited artworks as artworks change every time they are displayed in different spaces. Inside My Head and The Silent Voices were previously shown in different spaces, both of which were shared space which also meant a lot of compromising. Therefore for this exhibition I wanted to utilize the allocated space to better present them.
Inside My Head (2019) Tan Sher Lynn, VR installation sketch and setup at Polska
The space was visualized as an extension of the virtual environment in order to expand the immersive experience. The virtual installation is a vast empty space with a dark bluish tone to it, therefore I wanted to add a hint of blue in the physical space in an attempt to connect the virtual and physical world.The initial idea was to have blue LED lights lining the corner of the room where the walls meet the ceiling or pointing diagonally to the VR set that will sit at the front of the room. However, after experimenting with different set ups, the final decision was to have the LED op lining the insides of the existing lights as it softens the too vibrant blue blue lights, creating an unsettling yet calming atmosphere.
Inside My Head (2019) Tan Sher Lynn, VR installation setup at Polska
Black fabric was considered for covering the windows to prevent natural light from entering the room, however as the available material was too thin, I decided to use white paper instead. The white paper turned out to be a better option as it blends well with the surrounding when the lights are off, the black fabric on the other hand would have stand out too much, disrupting the harmony of the space.
The Silent Voices (2019), Tan Sher Lynn, Audio Installation at Polska
For the audio piece, I decided to use a Zoom H2n recorder to loop the audio clip hoping for a better sound quality as compared to the MP3 that was used in the first presentation of the work. Unlike the wav format, mp3 compressed the audio file resulting in flat, two dimensional sound, losing the ambience, space and realism the audio clip was trying to create. Despite being able to play wav format, the Zoom recorder is unable to seamless loop audio files. In the end, an iPod was used as a solution to these issues.
The veil that “separates you from the outside world”, was put up at the nook with nails on one side of the makeshift rail and double-sided tape on the other. When it was first presented I had the middle of the “rail” lifted with the help of fish string which was not quite pleasing visually. As a thicker and stronger “rail” was used this time, it was able to hold up better than before.
Attaching the headphone holder on to the glass pane without staining it was slightly challenging. After multiple attempts with double-sided tape and cardboard, the holder finally managed to stay in place with the help of a suction hook.
Photographs by Tan Sher Lynn
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