The Unknown Photographer (VR Installation)

The Unknown Photographer offers a virtual reality experience unlike any other—a surreal plunge into the fragmented memories of a First World War photographer. This documentary/fiction hybrid invites participants to take a stroll through a museum, in a vivid dreamscape filled with stunning images accompanied by the photographer’s thoughts. The 3D universe is composed of otherworldly structures—improbable architecture and impossible sculptures—as well as authentic historical photographs that seem both intangible and omnipresent. Participants encounter captivating allegorical characters on their poetic voyage through this peculiar world, and are invited to question the power of images and the ravages of war in times past and present.

The photographs used in this project were taken from a photo album discovered in an abandoned barn in Morin-Heights, in the Laurentians region north of Montreal, Canada. Bearing witness to a moment in the history of humanity, they are both the inspiration and the heart of The Unknown Photographer.