METAXY (working title: Khôra) Metaxy (Greek; in Plato's Symposium is defined as the "in-between '' or "middle ground") is a volumetric audiovisual installation by visual artist Can Buyukberber. Metaxy aims to function as a technological time capsule, a holographic stream of consciousness from a distant future; The piece reminds the viewer of a critical era of our planet by projecting anthropocenic imagery, forming from simple geometrical patterns into the more sensible complex visuals, creating a space for introspection using haze.
The project has been realized in collaboration with Immersive Arts Alliance, as a part of the first Oakland Festival or Immersive Arts.
Photo credit: Gary Seto.
METAXY's audiovisual journey focuses on the human impact on the environment by the effects of population, affluence and technology. It intends to create an overview effect on the state of human society; seeking a path through a time of global uncertainty, dealing with rising sea levels, wildfires and other unforeseeable consequences of temperature and solar activity increase. The term "metaxy" has been used by philosophers to mean the permanent place where man is in-between two poles of existence. Such as the infinite and the finite reality of existence. Plato argued the human mind as the real-time interface between these seemingly distinct worlds.
Interpreting this duality as an immersive experience, Buyukberber's work blurs the sense of scale and presence in physical and digital environments to create a futuristic hybrid sensory space. His use of digital aesthetics aims to explore the beauty behind visualization of complex information systems, and connectivity of all natural dynamics over space and time, in an ever-connected world of digital relationships and representations.
Artist conversation on METAXY A/V Installation with painter, educator, Oxford and SFAI alumni Jeremy Morgan. The conversation was screened at Gaines Gallery, followed by a live Q&A on July 16th, 2022.
The Oakland Festival of Immersive Arts
July 15-17 & July 22-24
July 15-17 & July 22-24
Celebrating Oakland's communities, cultures, history, and art with a vivid and dramatic multi-weekend Festival featuring artists and projects from the Bay Area and beyond.
With four world premieres, art, music and exhibitions taking place throughout downtown Oakland's Broadway corridor, OFIA highlights the potential of immersive art to build community and spark conversations about vital issues.
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