MA Digital Arts
Title of the work: #joinmein50years Work description and statement for the web page of the MA show With "#joinmein50years" Sneja Dobrosavljevic promotes "TheFunkySeniorHome" a fake senior home set in the virtual world of Second Life and invites her friends to project themselves 50 years later and interact with her there on a regular basis. Only those avatars who are ready to replace their fabulous Second Life appearance by a skin that makes them look old will be accepted to participate in the encounter/project. The first scenes recorded with avatars at "TheFunkySeniorHome" were used to make a video machinima which will serve as a 'commercial' trailer to invite new avatars to join the existing group and become members of this prestigious and unique place to be. "#joinmein50years" comes in several constellations, "In-world" (Second Life) and Real Life "Exhibition". The constellation chosen for the MA show enables the visitor to interact with a series of avatars via a simple dialogue box. Second Life is a virtual world for social exchange but also a creative environment for many artists. By setting her interactive piece in Second Life, Sneja Dobrosavljevic wants to explore the impact virtual online worlds may have on Real Life. By adapting to her own needs and goals the existing tools specific to Second Life (avatar appearance, gestures, outfits, animations and scripts), by borrowing visual elements from the popular mass cinema and arts and by using promotional techniques from the advertising field, she mimics in Second Life a serious Real Life issue (the issue of aging) in a ludic manner. Second Life is not used as an escape from Real Life but as a chance to step back temporarily from the real world in order to find new solutions and see common problems/everyday activities in a different way. " #joinmein50years / TheFunkySeniorHome" is an urgent call to reflect on what it means to be old and to age in today's western society. The project responds to the need for more innovative structures for the Elderly which do not only focus on nursing and care but also on intellectual needs and personal growth. contact: dsneja@yahoo.com