Helen PapagiannisMarch 17, 2021Augmented Reality, AR, fashion, adobe, architecture, nature, collage, creativity, commission, art

Adobe

Helen PapagiannisMarch 17, 2021Augmented Reality, AR, fashion, adobe, architecture, nature, collage, creativity, commission, art

Augmented Reality Wonder Kingdom, Helen Papagiannis, commissioned by Adobe, 2021.

Commissioned as a shrine to creativity and new possibilities, Wonder Kingdom is an immersive Augmented Reality (AR) experience viewable on iOS devices.

The virtual architecture provokes curiosity and delight, with both visual and auditory aesthetic details to explore in 360 degrees. Meditative sounds uplift and subtly blend in an atmospheric soundscape, responsive to your position with directional spatial audio. The orbiting virtual stars create a dynamic symphony when they collide with each other and the surrounding landscape. Secrets are embedded in the archways: Sounds of the ocean shore are triggered by your proximity to each elephant in the archway (a nod to memories of the Gulf of Siam and an elephant who delighted in the crashing beach waves).

Details throughout the project were inspired by travels to Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, and Spain. A culmination of dreams and desires manifested from memories of past experiences, the virtual architecture is as much a memory palace as it is a Wonder Kingdom. At a time when many of us have been unable to travel due to the global pandemic, Wonder Kingdom was created in a state of deep contemplation and becoming still, journeying inward to simultaneously travel nowhere and everywhere.

The project fuses digital and analog worlds, including the use of materials. Wonder Kingdom is ‘recycled’: it reuses and reimagines historical nature etchings by Ernst Hackel (public domain). My collage practice is one of the things that initially drew me to AR in 2005: the desire to craft new worlds and ideas from two dimensional elements, and transport those dreamscapes into physical reality in three dimensions.

A living, breathing form of architecture, Wonder Kingdom also serves as a memento mori. The words "Choose Wonder Over Worry" (a phrase inspired from author Amber Rae, a champion for creativity) adorn a series of arches, a gateway to human imagination and limitless possibility. As you walk through the archways, the seaweed directly below “Worry” parts to make a clearing (triggered by your body’s proximity), a welcome to continue your creative journey.

Wonderment is a daily driver for me and what first led me to this medium back in 2005 as a creator. This project is particularly special to me as it sparked deep joy and gratitude reflecting over the past 15 years. In 2009, our small (but mighty!) team at the Augmented Reality lab at York University (Directed by Caitlin Fisher) built one of the first drag and drop software tools for artists and non programmers. Adobe is doing a tremendous job democratizing this medium by not only building accessible tools, but supporting creativity and innovation by funding pioneering work.

Use your iOS device to scan this QR code to launch Wonder Kingdom in Adobe Aero.

To experience Wonder Kingdom: First, download and install Adobe Aero (iOS only). Then open this link on your iOS device (or scan the QR code above). Also featured in the Discovery section of the Adobe Aero app.

Grateful to the amazing team at Adobe for commissioning and supporting this project: Carrie Gotch (curator), Kim Pimmel, and Julia Tian. More on my process and behind the scenes work on Behance here.

Mockups imagining future iterations of the Wonder Kingdom as a digital fashion runway set for acclaimed designer Iris van Herpen (featuring her latest Spring Summer 2021 collection 'Roots of Rebirth').

I envision future iterations of the work as a digital runway for acclaimed fashion designer Iris van Herpen. Her latest Spring Summer 2021 collection "Roots of Rebirth" is inspired by the natural world, specifically the "fungi queendom" (a delightful synchronicity with the mushroom topped arches of my AR "Wonder Kingdom"). Van Herpen is known for her ethereal and other worldly designs, fusing technology with meticulous Haute Couture craftsmanship. Collaborating with van Herpen's atelier to extend her work into the virtual realm with AR is a dream I aspire to.