Gondwana

A world-first durational, multi-user VR event designed to be exhibited online or as an immersive installation, Gondwana is a constantly-evolving virtual ecosystem that travels from 1990 to 2090 over the course of a day’s exhibition. With a VR headset, a gaming computer or via our browser-based livestream, audiences can freely explore the world’s oldest tropical rainforest, the Daintree. But as you navigate this awe-inspiring landscape of wild rivers, rugged gorges and ancient trees, a broader narrative stirs below: over the course of the day’s exhibition, the rainforest procedurally degenerates based on climate data projections. The only salve to this seemingly inevitable decline is people: the more time you spend in Gondwana, the more resilient the forest becomes. Each showing is completely dynamic and unique, a meditation on time, change and loss in an irreplaceable ecosystem. *** Gondwana is an inherently communal experience, with multiplayer capability allowing up to 2,000 simultaneous users, who can log in from anywhere in the world in a hybrid or online presentation. However, it works equally well as a physical exhibition. Gondwana has been designed to be modular and flexible to exhibition requirements. There are three ways to access the piece: using PC VR, in 2D with a gaming laptop, or via the non-interactive browser-based livestream. This livestream can also be projected into an exhibition space to allow waiting audiences to be a part of the rainforest. In the past, Gondwana has run with a 24 hour duration for digital or hybrid festivals, allowing the experience to unfold across the world's timezones. However, it can easily be shifted to suit the opening hours of its host space - for example, an 8 hour duration to suit 9-5 opening hours.