Make Yourself At Home is a virtual reconstruction of a real space, created from photos. Harle worked with Huwei, a Beijing artist, who provided photos and audio recordings of their surroundings in the Heizhima hutong (a traditional courtyard residence) which were used as a basis for a 3D interactive environment. The video contrasts the resulting digital space with the actual location, with Huwei attempting to reproduce Harle’s path through the virtual space.
This series illustrates the process of interpretation inherent in digital ‘capture’, employing video game level design which combines modern representation technology with the creative skills of simulation and facade inherited from theatre. The artist takes ownership of their own ‘fictional’ space through this creative process. Through the aesthetic of video-game ‘developer commentary’, the works articulate the artist’s and inhabitants different understanding of their respective spaces.
Download the desktop versions of the work below:
MakeYourselfAtHomeHutongMac.zip (200mb)
MakeYourselfAtHomeHutongPC.zip (200mb)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbF54XgY4eQ