Avinash Kumar
Meena XR
MEENA XR invites participants into the intimate 2079 studio of Meenakshi, a cultural cyborg preserving Indian heritage in a world afflicted by cultural amnesia. Through mixed reality, visitors learn classical Bharatanatyam mudras (hand gestures) using 3D-printed sculptures and gesture recognition technology. Each successful mudra triggers nostalgic films of a great teacher, exploring the gesture's cultural significance, playing on a vintage television within the virtual space.
The experience seamlessly blends physical and digital elements. As visitors navigate this hybrid space, they uncover layers of cultural memory through audio-visual archives featuring renowned dancer Jayalakshmi Eshwar. This suggests that cultural preservation occurs not through static archiving but through continuous creative reinterpretation. MEENA XR embodies the philosophy that heritage survives through transformation rather than stasis.
Part sci-fi narrative, part dance education, the work is a poignant fusion of ancient gesture and future technology. It explores how embodied knowledge survives technological dependency, presenting Meenakshi's digital game for preserving classical dance as an urgent meditation on cultural memory and loss.
The experience seamlessly blends physical and digital elements. As visitors navigate this hybrid space, they uncover layers of cultural memory through audio-visual archives featuring renowned dancer Jayalakshmi Eshwar. This suggests that cultural preservation occurs not through static archiving but through continuous creative reinterpretation. MEENA XR embodies the philosophy that heritage survives through transformation rather than stasis.
Part sci-fi narrative, part dance education, the work is a poignant fusion of ancient gesture and future technology. It explores how embodied knowledge survives technological dependency, presenting Meenakshi's digital game for preserving classical dance as an urgent meditation on cultural memory and loss.
Avinash is a co-founder of Antariksha Studio, which that NextGen multicultural entertainment across games engines, transmedia performances and immersive experiences. Under his monicker Thiruda, he is one half of the artist duo that produces 'Elsewhere in India', a globally touring performance and art project. (Location : Goa, India) Alap Parikh is an artist and technologist focusing on immersive experiences. His work as a developer and technical director has been shown at museums such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, Orlando Museum of Art and Johnson Museum of Art, as well as been shown at festivals around the world including Cannes, Sundance, Tribeca and CPH:Dox. (Location : Mumbai, India) Ami Mehta is a Media Artist & Curator exploring interaction design, creative computing, motion capture and art history in New York, and lead for New Inc incubation of this XR experience. (Location : New York, America)