Roadside Picnic | Cromwell Place, 2022
Having been incredibly fortunate to have been selected for the highly prestigious Epic Megagrants Unreal Engine project at the Royal College of Art (RCA), my journey was an exhilarating rollercoaster of learning and growth. I delved headfirst into the intricate world of Unreal Engine. As I diligently crafted and meticulously built my game, a unique creation emerged, one that transported players into a realm of serenity and introspection.
Harnessing the potential of ambisonic sound, my game served as a captivating walkthrough sound meditation, inviting users to delve into the deepest recesses of their mind and embark on a transformative auditory journey.
With my game complete, I took the next step towards showcasing my creation to the world. Bringing together my newfound knowledge and expertise, I compiled my game alongside other inspiring projects, cultivating a menu level that acted as a gateway to various game worlds. This amalgamation of digital masterpieces formed a captivating tapestry that left audiences spellbound, eagerly awaiting their chance to embark on their own digital odyssey.
The culmination of my hard work and dedication came to fruition when my game, alongside other’s on the megagrant, was presented at the group exhibition, Roadside Picnic. Held at Cromwell Place, this exhibition served as a testament to the creativity and innovation within the field of digital art, transcending the boundaries of conventional gameplay.
I knew that this was just the beginning of what would undoubtedly be an extraordinary artistic journey.
Roadside Picnic is an outcome of Unreal Communication, a research project in RCA's School of Communication. Supported by Epic Games' MegaGrant Programme, the project explores Unreal Engine.
Taken from the science fiction novel of the same name, Roadside Picnic draws on the book’s notion of ‘the zone’, a restricted area contaminated with unearthly technology. A place where psychic and physical anomalies challenge our understanding of time and space, populated with hallucinatory phantoms, strange and dangerous phenomena and littered with artefacts manifesting inexplicable, seemingly supernatural properties. Places and things not fully understood. Similarly, the places, objects and agencies that appear in the show feel at times like chance discoveries, finds or excavations. More fragments of another time and space than creations or artworks from this.