zenkaThe artist Zenka has been documenting the evolution of virtual reality by making raku sculptures of VR headsets. She’s also created an interactive timeline of some of the major VR and AR headsets. Technology has been progressing so quickly that looking back at cell phones from 10-20 years ago starts to feel like ancient history. Zenka feels the same way about VR and AR headsets as we start to see more patents like Sony’s smart eye contacts or Google’s cyborg eye implants.

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I had a chance to catch up with Zenka at the Rothenberg Founder Field Day in May where we talked about her VR HMD art project, her other augmented reality art projects, some of her thoughts about identity and revisiting nostalgic memories in VR, and some of her other anthropological observations about this moment in history.

See Also: These Brilliant Sculpture Masks Chart Virtual Reality’s History

Here’s a video of some of Zenka’s recent AR installations:

Here’s a picture from the 2014 IEEE VR conference of a collection of head-mounted displays curated by NASA’s Stephen Ellis.

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Kent Bye
  • VRchadwick

    Here’s a 360-video I produced with Zenka over a year ago. It showcases her LA-based installation. She’s an incredible artist (and person).

    -Chadwick

    https://www.vrideo.com/watch/tkBNMZw