Virtual Reality Art by Kevin Mack
Anandala is an interactive virtual reality art experience where you explore a vast labyrinth of ever-changing, psychoactive abstract art. Fly, as if in a dream, through this psychedelic world in the sky, where complex shapes and colors flow and evolve over every surface.
Encounter the Blorts, the curious and expressive artificial lifeforms that inhabit Anandala. Inspired by research in neuroscience and artificial-life, these intelligent beings interact with you and each other through mesmerizing movement, changing color textures, and their own musical language. Some Blorts can even bestow visions of mystical symbols. Experience the surprising emergent behavior of 130 unique, autonomous, living artworks that are aware of themselves, each other, and you.
Unwind and explore: Anandala offers a rejuvenating refuge from reality. Explore at your own pace and immerse your mind in a calming musical soundscape as you discover an awe-inspiring world of evolving beauty and wonder and commune with its unusual inhabitants. The ever-evolving textures and original ambient music provide a hypnotic source of brainwave entrainment to support presence, relaxation, and transcendent states.
Portals and Sky Shrine: Within the labyrinth of Anandala, there are 12 portals of varying shapes. Moving through them will transport you to different areas of the labyrinth, and can transform the textures, colors, and lighting in the world. One special portal, located near the highest point in the labyrinth, will teleport you beyond the labyrinth to the Sky Shrine, where you can commune with the chanting High Priests of The Five Sacred Shapes and The Five Colossal Blort Deities. The golden rings around the rim of the Shrine are also portals that will transport you back to various locations in the labyrinth.
The freedom of natural flight: Explore Anandala using an intuitive, physics-based flight system that makes flying simple and comfortable even for most motion-sensitive people. Point the controllers in the direction you want to go and gently squeeze the triggers (For Valve Index controllers, squeeze the grips). Squeeze a little to go slow, more to go faster (Just like an accelerator pedal). Use either controller or combine them for greater speed and maneuverability. To turn, simply turn your body, or use the right joystick/thumbpad for snap turns like in VRChat.
Converse with the Blorts: You can speak to the Blorts in their own language.
Aim your controller at the Blort you wish to speak with and press the appropriate button for your controller type.
Press once for each syllable. Press multiple times in succession to produce phrases.
Vive controllers - Press the left thumbpad.
Index controllers - Press left A or B buttons.
Oculus Touch controllers - Press left X or Y Buttons.
Encounter the Blorts, the curious and expressive artificial lifeforms that inhabit Anandala. Inspired by research in neuroscience and artificial-life, these intelligent beings interact with you and each other through mesmerizing movement, changing color textures, and their own musical language. Some Blorts can even bestow visions of mystical symbols. Experience the surprising emergent behavior of 130 unique, autonomous, living artworks that are aware of themselves, each other, and you.
Unwind and explore: Anandala offers a rejuvenating refuge from reality. Explore at your own pace and immerse your mind in a calming musical soundscape as you discover an awe-inspiring world of evolving beauty and wonder and commune with its unusual inhabitants. The ever-evolving textures and original ambient music provide a hypnotic source of brainwave entrainment to support presence, relaxation, and transcendent states.
Portals and Sky Shrine: Within the labyrinth of Anandala, there are 12 portals of varying shapes. Moving through them will transport you to different areas of the labyrinth, and can transform the textures, colors, and lighting in the world. One special portal, located near the highest point in the labyrinth, will teleport you beyond the labyrinth to the Sky Shrine, where you can commune with the chanting High Priests of The Five Sacred Shapes and The Five Colossal Blort Deities. The golden rings around the rim of the Shrine are also portals that will transport you back to various locations in the labyrinth.
The freedom of natural flight: Explore Anandala using an intuitive, physics-based flight system that makes flying simple and comfortable even for most motion-sensitive people. Point the controllers in the direction you want to go and gently squeeze the triggers (For Valve Index controllers, squeeze the grips). Squeeze a little to go slow, more to go faster (Just like an accelerator pedal). Use either controller or combine them for greater speed and maneuverability. To turn, simply turn your body, or use the right joystick/thumbpad for snap turns like in VRChat.
Converse with the Blorts: You can speak to the Blorts in their own language.
Aim your controller at the Blort you wish to speak with and press the appropriate button for your controller type.
Press once for each syllable. Press multiple times in succession to produce phrases.
Vive controllers - Press the left thumbpad.
Index controllers - Press left A or B buttons.
Oculus Touch controllers - Press left X or Y Buttons.
Anandala is now available on Steam!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2868600/Anandala/
Anandala User Guide
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2868600/Anandala/
Anandala User Guide
Anandala was an Official Selection of the 78th Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia in 2021.
|
Anandala was presented at Venice VR Expanded in the VR Gallery at the Palazzo del Casinò (Lido di Venezia), Sala Amici - September 1-11 2021 and at prestigious cultural institutions around the world - September 1-19, 2021 and through Viveport to accredited festival guests and Viveport Infinity subscribers.
|
|
|
Museo Nazionale del Cinema, Turin, Italy
M9 - Museum of the 20th Century, Venice Mestre, Italy Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA), Moscow, Russia Espronceda - Institute of Art & Culture, Barcelona, Spain Euromersive Turkey - IKSV Salon & Kolektif House (Maslak), Istanbul, Turkey Portland Art Museum & Northwest Film Center – Portland Art Museum, Portland, USA |
Centre PHI, Montréal, Canada
Sandman Studios - Sandbox Immersive Festival, Beijing, China MC2: Grenoble, Grenoble, France Centquatre-Paris, Paris, France Invr.Space, Berlin, Germany MEET Digital Culture Center | Fondazione Cariplo, Milan, Italy Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini - Laboratorio Aperto di Modena, Modena, Italy |
Anandala exhibited at MOXI, The Wolff Museum of Exploration and Innovation, in Santa Barbara, California, from September 2nd to January 8th, 2023.
https://moxi.org/exhibit/anandala/
https://moxi.org/exhibit/anandala/
|
|
Anandala was featured in the Digital Extravaganza Exhibit at Theater of Digital Art, ToDA, in Dubai from May 13 - August 31, 2022.
The exhibit featured a dedicated room with 4 headsets running Anandala 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for nearly 4 months.
The exhibit featured a dedicated room with 4 headsets running Anandala 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for nearly 4 months.
|
|
|
Anandala was an Official Selection of the Red Sea Film Festival - Immersive Section
|
Red Sea: Immersive ran December 7-15, 2021.
The festival was presented at Jeddah’s new creative complex, Hayy Jameel, Saudi Arabia’s new dedicated home for the arts. |
|
Anandala was also exhibited at:
LEV Matadero Festival de Electrónica Visual y Realidades Extendidas in Madrid, Spain - 2022
Bucharest International Dance Film Festival (BIDFF) - Bucharest, Romania - 2022
LINK Festival in Oviedo, Spain - 2022
Rural Nations of Scotland - Hebrides International Film Festival - Outer Hebrides, Scotland - 2023
Sci-Fi London Film Festival - Hackstock VII, UK - 2023
LEV Matadero Festival de Electrónica Visual y Realidades Extendidas in Madrid, Spain - 2022
Bucharest International Dance Film Festival (BIDFF) - Bucharest, Romania - 2022
LINK Festival in Oviedo, Spain - 2022
Rural Nations of Scotland - Hebrides International Film Festival - Outer Hebrides, Scotland - 2023
Sci-Fi London Film Festival - Hackstock VII, UK - 2023
Anandala Trailer
Anandala Clips