The renaissance of scientific interest in psychedelics has unveiled intriguing links between the brain and consciousness, offering hope for unraveling the mysteries of the mind. A peer-reviewed study demonstrated that a high, safely administered dose of psilocybin can induce mystical experiences, transcending physical states and ego identification while fostering a sense of connection to nature and the universe at large.
This VR experience documents some of Lisette’s manifestations of cosmic consciousness, which she experienced during psychedelic trips and preserved in the form of poems, while in this state. The virtual realm recreates some of the excessively inaccessible mystical sensations of psychedelic states. Taking advantage of this medium, the space takes users into an alternate reality of one’s own mind and provides a multisensory experience where monologues are supported by abstract visuals generated with TouchDesigner. The user explores the space through its winding corridors leading to semicircular rooms that both stimulate the spirit of exploration and give a sense of intimacy allowing the user to lose themselves in the freedom of their own mind. The headset fully disconnects them from reality.
This VR experience documents some of Lisette’s manifestations of cosmic consciousness, which she experienced during psychedelic trips and preserved in the form of poems, while in this state. The virtual realm recreates some of the excessively inaccessible mystical sensations of psychedelic states. Taking advantage of this medium, the space takes users into an alternate reality of one’s own mind and provides a multisensory experience where monologues are supported by abstract visuals generated with TouchDesigner. The user explores the space through its winding corridors leading to semicircular rooms that both stimulate the spirit of exploration and give a sense of intimacy allowing the user to lose themselves in the freedom of their own mind. The headset fully disconnects them from reality.
Architecture
The gallery takes on an experimental shape inspired by Asif Khan's Serpentine Pavilion. Users are encouraged to explore the artworks in any order and move freely through the space through winding corridors. Ambient lighting played a key role in recreating the mystical atmosphere that draws viewers' attention to the works of art. Due to the irregularity of the space and the prevailing darkness, to improve the users' sense of orientation, dimly illuminating elements were placed at the junction of the semi-transparent curtains and the floor.
The works scattered around the space were created in Photoshop and modified in Touchdesigner. The program generated an interesting texture that adheres to psychedelic aesthetics.
The works scattered around the space were created in Photoshop and modified in Touchdesigner. The program generated an interesting texture that adheres to psychedelic aesthetics.
Storyline
"Step into a world beyond human consciousness. The renaissance of scientific interest in psychedelics hopes to unravel the mysteries of consciousness. Psychedelics are capable of inducing mystical-like sensations, transcending one’s identification with the physical self, and a sense of connection to nature and the universe at large. The multi-sensory art exhibits scattered around this space stimulate some of the sensations that Lisette experienced during her psychedelic trips. You are encouraged to explore the space at your own pace and use the interactive card to activate the soundscapes."
Poem 1. The Ocean and Self
"Then there are days like this. Where the fog of chaos clears - here I see all the truths that have always been right in front of me. What I am, what they are, the things we’ve done. It’s all laid out in front of me - the perfect story. I was once a God. I treaded lightly with care for the self - assuring the breath of my divinity was always able. Listening is wonderful. Open ears and an open heart to absorb the tunes of the world. The internal world is an ever shifting ocean. The tides as moments of being. The simplest things - step, direction, movement, pattern - these become the turnings of the water. We cannot move entire oceans but we can move the direction of the tides - moments of being carefully conducted … and slowly you come to realize that you are in a completely different ocean."
Poem 2. Cosmic Exhaustion
"A constant search for something that doesn’t exist. It becomes the only thing that’s real. It is so real that no one can see it, not even me. Where do I find you? Every now and then it comes through the periphery. An endless stream of blues that only appears with closed eyes and a body deprived Rolling hills of golden wheat. The wind sweeps. The grain laughs and dances. We dance. Maybe I'll find you. Hopefully I don’t. Going upwards, up a thousand stairs. Up there you exist. I’m coming. I’ll lose my form. Searching through the boundless Where do I find you? How do I find you? There are no forms. Oh. You'll be a wonder next to all the other wonders in a place that doesn’t exist. I wonder, I wander Upwards, up 1,000 stairs This golden tower with its spirals. Beautifully endless! That place that doesn’t exist calling for me Fighting, striving towards that bright blue Then I realize it has always been here These 1,000 stairs do not exist, they are that place So here we marvel Marveling, Traveling, Wandering through this golden tower This is where you exist"
Poem 3. Pirates
"Usually pirates are lost at sea. I’m not. Sometimes the sea becomes so endless, so vast - that one must pretend. It is unfathomable to the mind that one can be in something so big, so blue and not be lost. So, I play games. I throw my compass overboard. Forget about the drawer of extras. A temporary aphasia. Go into that golden slumber. I wake up - lost! I look into the great abyss. I’m on a boat. Sailing to a place that doesn’t exist. I must be searching for something. There I go - weeks, months, years - maybe a lifetime. Like a mouse on its wheel. The search is exhilarating. The place that doesn’t exist. Knowing I will never get there but fooling myself into believing I will. That’s the real game. In the dark of the night I see the most brilliant silhouette’s of the places with never ending gardens. A surplus of fruits for my consumption. The ancient trees with their ancient knowledge. They are so real, so magical - all I can do is melt into the giant fishnet of blue. Floating, suspended in the unwavering flow. Drowning in aliveness. The matter that suffocates me, that keeps me alive. The continuum with no beginning, no end. The material has lost its form. The dense waters of chaos - of potential. The epitome of all eras passed, everythingness streaming through this being. Where I become everything so that I become nothing. The infinite has no boundaries. I wake up - found! Tightly bound into flesh, consciousness, awakened into the limits of mortality. The golden slumber, only a faint memory of becoming."
Poem 4. The wonders
"One must not get lost in the dream. Although there is much to dream of, one must stay grounded in this reality. There’s an energy in this city that makes me feel like I’m in another dimension - another planet. A life that isn’t mine. It’s difficult to describe. It doesn’t matter. Because still, I keep living. I’m alive. I have the capacity to love. I can move my body. I have food. People love me. This is living. The only thing I can do is love until I can’t. This is the function of human beings. You just got a tattoo of the world. It is to remember that you can have the entire world in your arms. Likewise, the entire world can hold you. That’s how it is. Keep discovering. Keep searching. Keep loving. Keep fighting. Keep living."
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