The Compass is a cross-reality game where you can get a behind the scenes look at Aura, Hollow’s latest immersive performance in which they examine the relationship between art and reality, and the world-making potential of imagination.
By clicking on the NEXT button, you will be introduced to three virtual portals. They are assembled from digital and physical objects, characters as well as documents from different iterations of Aura and the journey that led the three artists to this imaginary place.
Along the path, over a series of research trips, they befriended underground communities in Georgia, Hungary, and Poland. Their choice fell on these countries because they were curious how queer and other minority groups can resist the hostile political atmosphere characterizing these places nowadays.
Their mission, on the one hand, was to understand the world-making practices of these communities. On the other hand, the three artists wanted to have a better understanding of their own group. They shaped their trip towards this fictional world, that they would eventually build up together, as a multi-month game with the ultimate goal to unite in a collective body.
They tried to function as one entity and experimented with ancient and modern techniques of decision making, journaling, divination as well as somatic practices to guide them along the way.
Throughout the game, they developed three subplots that represent the three worlds they had to pass before reaching their final destination, the world/artwork called Aura. The Compass is a tool enabling you to take a glimpse into these otherwise invisible places.
For the full experience, please note the following!
- The Compass works best on smartphones that support modern Augmented Reality (ARKit & ARCore)
- Unmute your device and turn up the volume
- If you are entering the portals over your smartphone, we recommend you wear headphones, and have enough data (~100mb)
- To be able to explore the objects in their entirety, you will need space. Go to a square, a field, or a beach before opening them
- Below each AR object, you find visual and written information providing the context for the portal
In The Compass, the artists use images of the performers of Aura at the Trafó House of Contemporary Arts in Budapest and at Montag Modus at radialsystem in Berlin, including Gyula Muskovics, Viktor Szeri, Tamás Páll, Thea Soti, Yinna, Imre Vass, Imola Kacsó, Márton Glaser, Marcio Kerber Canabarro, Patrik Kelemen, and Júlia Vavra. Music for the teaser was composed by Thea Soti & Yinna.