Nothing is possible: Swiss animator explores the limits of virtual reality

Fabienne Giezendanner, whose project Bloom recently featured at a virtual reality (VR) festival in Prague, discusses the challenges of combining art and technology, the VR situation in Switzerland, and why having two passports is a “great stroke of luck”. Virtual reality is an art form bound to the technology that gives it shape. Watching a VR or XR (extended reality) “experience” involves slipping on a plastic VR helmet. If this device malfunctions in the slightest, if wires become entangled around ankles or wrists, or even if the outside world intrudes through noise or bodily sensation, the thread of illusion is promptly severed. And if an artist wants to create a VR experience, it certainly helps if they have some knowledge of the programming technology involved. If their ambitions exceed their technological competence, they must enlist the help of a developer, whose technical realism may also restrict the artist’s vision. At ART*VR – the Festival of Virtual Reality and ...