The Oracle of Darklings
Art Direction
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Interactive
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Speculative
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Experience Design
Showcased at
Speculative, Interaction and Experiential Design, Art Direction
Conceptualised and designed by Sagar Bhat, Sabina Oțelea,
Shiqing Ge, and Ren Han
Documentation shot by Sabina Oțelea and Shiqing Ge
Photo credits: Gonçalo Lopes and Anna Diessner
Conceptualised and designed by Sagar Bhat,
Sabina Oțelea, Shiqing Ge, and Ren Han
Documentation shot by Sabina Oțelea and Shiqing Ge
Photo credits: Gonçalo Lopes and
Anna Diessner
Futures foretold: Sonic-visual prophecies of world in peril
How can we engage the audience to develop a deeper empathy for the climate crisis without overwhelming them with information?
The Oracle of Darklings uses storytelling, sensory immersion, and speculative narratives to immerse the audience in an anthology of evocative stories.
The techno-biophilic entity offers prophecies of a world devastated by climate collapse, revealing the non-human experiences of sentinel creatures such as elephants, whales, hawks, wolves, and deer. These experiences are presented as prophetic insights into our probable reality, exploring the creatures’ lives and the mutations they undergo due to the impacts of climate change.
The installation comprises a multi-screen, audio-visual, interactive experience. Audiences are encouraged to offer elements to the oracle in exchange for a prophecy, making their engagement performative as they shift from passive observers to active participants in the narrative.
The audience engages with the oracle by offering tokens into a slot. These tokens, ranging from natural objects such as seashells, pebbles, and pine cones to more symbolic items like fossils or dried leaves, serve as catalysts for the oracle's output.
Each narrative dispensed acts as a potential guide, a source of inspiration, or a warning, creating a dynamic interplay between past, present, and future.
The making of the Oracle: Experience through materiality
The oracle was conceived through mood boards and concept sketches, then transformed into a functioning piece using interactive tools like Arduino, RGB sensors, and TouchDesigner. The process blended technology and artistry, crafting abstract ideas into a rich, sensory journey.
