LOAD"BrainDev",8,1

LOAD"BrainDev",8,1 is a mixed reality experience for two players, who can develop their personalities together across three levels. Like an empathy machine, the application promises to make players more socially adept in terms of the needs of our diverse society. To this end, it employs verified results from existing research on promoting empathy through virtual reality. For example, the experience is significantly enhanced when shared with a counterpart, or fellow player. Keywords in this context include embodiment, the virtual adaptation of other bodies, and the assumption of empathy-promoting roles, such as that of a superhero. These experiences have been scientifically proven to increase empathy and helpfulness in the long term.

LOAD"BrainDev",8,1 places these findings in an artistic context, making them accessible via state-of-the-art XR technology in a three-stage scene collage. The experience oscillates between augmented and substitute realities to immersion in complete virtual reality, using them as playing fields for personal development.

Premiere: Open House, Urban Nation, Berlin, 11/8/2025

Exhibition: "I AM FLUX: The Freedom of Being and the Possibilities of Becoming", URBAN NATION Project Space, Berlin, 11/6/2025 - 3/29/2026

Developed as part of the Fresh A.I.R. artist in residence scholarship & funded by Stiftung Berliner Leben