VR: Tamiko Thiel's Travels of Mariko Horo

Tamiko Thiel is a visual artist exploring the interplay of place, space, the body and cultural identity in works encompassing an artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer, objects, installations, digital prints in 2D and 3D, videos, interactive 3D virtual worlds (VR), augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence art. Thiel has been at the forefront of virtual world creation using both VR and AR from the very first moment that it was possible to work with these mediums. She also had a significant influence on computer design whilst working for the Thinking Machines Corporation from 1983 – 1985 which is documented via her inclusion in the Curiosity Cabinet – this is a lesser-known aspect of her profile and portfolio as a leading contemporary digital artist. After leaving Thinking Machines, Thiel pursued her interest in virtual world creation made possible by the release of the OpenGL standard which enabled Virtual Reality – real-time 3D creativity – from 1992 onwards via standard PCs as opposed to cumbersome and expensive workstations. In 1994, Thiel collaborated with Steven Spielberg, chair of the Starbright Foundation, to create the first 3D online interactive virtual world for children. In Starbright World, the children, who were confined to a hospital, could engage with one another and with Spielberg himself, as animated avatars. In 2000, Thiel produced her first interactive large-scale monoscopic VR projection – Beyond Manzanar – with Zara Houshmand using text-based Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML). It was in 2006 that Thiel created the Interactive 3D virtual reality installation, which is part of this exhibition. Travels of Mariko Horo is a mesmerizing blend of virtual world, historical architecture, and folklore, which invites the viewer into a surreal, underwater interpretation of Venice, where Eastern and Western iconography collide and coalesce. A fantasy virtual environment that can be explored at the viewers pleasure and peril as Mariko, sees the exotic and mysterious Occident through her eyes and her experiences. Thiel is not just a prolific artist – who has made significant contributions to the evolution of virtual and augmented reality art making – she is also an activist bringing the major issues of the time into stark and compelling focus.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Gazelli Art House, 39 Dover Street, London, United Kingdom