The CAVE

As many other have already stated, I had no idea as to what was going to happen in the CAVE. I arrived a little earlier than scheduled and after getting lost in a fairly straightforward building, I reached the room and ran into the previous group right as they were leaving. One of the members was breathing heavily and saying "I did not expect this at all." Another was saying "The last one was a little disturbing. But they are fun."

Now seeing the group and hearing these statements, I was already imbibed with adrenaline. I'm not particularly claustrophobic but when it comes to dark and relatively small spaces with a lot of imagery (imagery that has been found "disturbing" by others nonetheless) awaiting me, I have to admit that I got a little antsy.

I was pleased to see that this initial reaction of mine was not well-founded and was dispelled quite quickly when I realized what we were going to do. I actually got a little too excited at places (something that Professor Cayley found funny I presume) and was really happy to start the simulation and get to wear the tracking glasses for the first piece.

The first piece was about a corridor and writing and images suspended in air as you "walked" through the corridor. At the end you passed through a barrier and you were presented with a seemingly endless continuation of the corridor. This immediately reminded me of the heterotopia and crossing the mirror. Looking back, I could see the barrier floating between me and the others and it felt like I managed to do the impossible: cross the mirror and look back.

I also couldn't get the idea that the spectators become the spectacle out of my head, mostly because I could see Professor Cayley observing us while we were being silly and trying to touch the projections (or maybe it was only me). But I'm quite sure that watching people engaging with VR would be equally if not more entertaining than actually being the person engaging with the VR.

All in all it was a very pleasant experience.