myPerception.alter(); (2018) is a 3D virtual environment and augmented reality installation, which highlights Catholic rituals and iconography through the use of poetry, visuals and abstract sounds. Growing up in Ireland, I always had an interest in the prevalence of Catholicism within Irish society but never an understanding of the rituals or their intent. This project visualises my perception of Catholic ritualistic practice and the deeper meaning of some of its common icons.
Three Catholic icons that had personal significance were selected; Communion, a cup of tea and a sandwich, and The Rosary. In the installation, a console table is set up with these three objects on top of it. With a sustained personal interest in the potentials of technology as a means of hosting collective memory, this will inform the project’s uses of AR and VR; reflecting the awkward clashes between contemporary technology and pious religion.
Augmented reality (AR) forms one part of this project; the user interacts with the three shelves, which display a number of objects that lets you discover poetic text, through Android device. This is a collaboration with Jarlath Mulhern, a Glasgow based writer and poet originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Mulhern, who I share a similar background with, wrote three poems which describe the meaning of each of the objects. Through the AR the user sees the poetic text, granting further insight into the significance of each personally selected item. The objects on the shelves are a reflection of some of the imagery described in the poems.
The second part of the project is a virtual reality (VR) experience hosted on a virtual reality headset. This VR environment presents essential elements to encourage thought and conversation towards the values of Catholicism in today’s society. In this virtual environment, the user first interacts with a virtual table identical to the one they encountered within the installation. The user selects an object on the table through head movements. Each object takes the user into a unique abstract environment which gives a visual representation of the meaning behind the personal perception of each iconographic entity.
Communion
I have compared the symbol of communion to a capitalism exchange through the use of consuming the body of Christ to gain a higher spiritual power. When listening to Marina Abramovic talk about this in a Frieze podcast and it highlighted some aspects that I had used in previous projects of mine.
I was thinking about the idea of Catholicism as an institution, about power and money and thinking about its net worth. I was also thinking about artists in the renaissance and how their work is only focused on religion which let me reflect on how much power the Catholic church had at this time. I am genuinely interested in what use Catholicism serves today and future society and if it is actually needed.
Cup of tea and sandwich
This represents the communal and social aspect of religion. I am using the food as an act of bringing people together and being able to share stories and meet people. This is not as critical towards Catholicism as the other two icons but more focusing on the intention of bringing people together.
The icon of the triangle brings a group of people together in a moment of reflection and becomes another playful symbol of Catholicism. When speaking with people over food, it instantly becomes less formal and an act of talking and sharing stories. The aim is to compare the act of talking and listening to someone against the idea of listening to a priest and practising rituals to gain a sense of spiritual power.
The Rosary
Growing up as a child, saying the rosary seemed normal to me and was just a part of my culture. In later years, I began to listen more when it was performed in a group and there is something really haunting and strange in how it sounds. When performed in a group the sound reminds me of cults or robotic chants.
Repeating the same prayer in a group is something that I had experienced in my own home as well when my father passed away. Having to deal with the trauma that comes with death is difficult but becoming a puppet in your home is also quite isolating. Religion may work for some people to help with grief but for me, it becomes an act of pretending that these ingrained rituals are part of me. Using the rosary beads as a way of visualising the intensity it has from an outside perspective.
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