Figure 3.0: Do cyborgs dream in red and white? is the fourth piece in a series of performances of live slideshow presentations. However, with this particular piece, Kubo decided to present the performance as a 360° video Virtual Reality experience. Viewers were invited to step up on an elevated platform installation to put on a VR headset to view the performance. Upon wearing the headset, viewers would find themselves in a computer generated version of the platform they are standing on, with Kubo green-screened in the virtual space to present a series of images with narration. The presentation explores images from the 2017 US elections, and investigates the relationship between pop culture, presentation values, and political ideology. Recent political events and questions of information privacy are particular pertinent to Kubo’s work, as it directly relates to her cult upbringing in The Unification Church. For this piece, the VR experience is utilized to create an isolated, echo-chamber space that to replicates the experience of ideological conversion tactics seen in both religious and political fundamentalism. The title of the piece is a play on a Philip K. Dick’s novel, and explores similar questions of autonomy, freedom, and the “American dream”.
“In a way it is a physical shrine built for her technological idea. Her discussion of her faith and cult become secondary in nature to the overshadowing factor of her moving herself out of the physical realm into the virtual.” - Alt Esc
“In a way it is a physical shrine built for her technological idea. Her discussion of her faith and cult become secondary in nature to the overshadowing factor of her moving herself out of the physical realm into the virtual.” - Alt Esc
This piece first exhibited at No Vacancy II, Brooklyn, NY. It then traveled to Das Institut für Alles Mögliche in Berlin, Germany for the group shouw Re: Core. The following images are from its last viewing at Spring Break Art Fair (2018), NY.
Installation shot, with viewer wearing VR headset.
Screenshot of performance in VR view (360 video).
