This project was a collaboration between the Goethe Institut and Black Rhino, and I had the absolute pleasure of consulting for this beautiful project curated by Porgie, an East African cultural shaper in every way. Darubini was an AR/VR project that showcased works from some of Kenya's leading creatives, including:
Adam Yawe: A 3D artist, product designer, and amazing skateboarder. His showcase work, titled Jua ni Kali, is a VR animated short film exploring Kenya’s Jua Kali culture and its connection to skateboarding.
Leezie Arts: A traditional painter, 3D artist, and graphic designer whose work, titled The Queen is Dead, transports viewers into a series of different stages of grief from the king’s perspective.
Husna Nyathira: A multidisciplinary designer and illustrator based in Nairobi. Her work, The Growth VR experience, is an extrapolation of a series she started exploring in 2018, giving it new life with a different form of expression, especially highlighting relationships between humans and how they affect one another.
Angela Cauri: A visual artist and architectural designer pursuing the space of creative technology. Her work, A Personal Odyssey [Of Thyself], explores architectural potential within digital narrative forms and immersive environments. Immersion is the “being-in” of space and time, as opposed to the “looking-at” of a static image.
Gavin Kendo: A visual artist whose work, Cotton Candy Dreams, is an experience tailored for the out-of-place dreamer. The project explores a dreamscape as seen from the artist's mind, filled with surreal characters and plants.
John Maronga: A freelance self-taught 2D illustrator. His exhibit, Euphoria, takes the viewer on a musical journey. The story is about a young pastoralist boy seated under a tree, taking shade from the scorching sun, and how through music, he is able to transcend to a different world.
The set designers were the talented Picha Perfect, a creative arts company dedicated to visual production and art direction. This project was more of an inspirational journey than just work, and I truly enjoy when projects become a journey of learning from other creatives.
Technology has allowed us to explore our world in far more ways than we ever thought possible.
It has also allowed us to develop empathy, create meaningful connections, find similarities,
strengths and much more about how the world is by just a click or swipe. However, what if we could use this same technology for introspection? Use it to take a deep, meaningful, and transformational look at ourselves. Darubini (The Telescope) is the third installment of the State of the ARt (SOTA) series.
Using VR headsets, Darubini’s contributors take us on journeys to new worlds where exploration
leads to introspection. Further, Darubini offers viewers a glimpse into what is happening ‘behind
the ARt’ that resulted in this journey of self-discovery.
It has also allowed us to develop empathy, create meaningful connections, find similarities,
strengths and much more about how the world is by just a click or swipe. However, what if we could use this same technology for introspection? Use it to take a deep, meaningful, and transformational look at ourselves. Darubini (The Telescope) is the third installment of the State of the ARt (SOTA) series.
Using VR headsets, Darubini’s contributors take us on journeys to new worlds where exploration
leads to introspection. Further, Darubini offers viewers a glimpse into what is happening ‘behind
the ARt’ that resulted in this journey of self-discovery.
