From 6 February 2023, TOPO will be hosting a residency for Argentinian artist Yesica Duarte. During her residency, Yesica proposed a virtual reality project that communicates with the whole body, including the breath of the person experiencing it. She built her own system to capture the breath of the helmet wearer. Members of the public were invited to try out the project during free 35-minute one-to-one sessions with the artist, in English or Spanish. This dialogue with the public gave the artist the opportunity to test the vision of her project in order to improve it.

About Pinch to awaken

It's a virtual reality experience with portable interfaces that uses breathing as a means of navigation. It's an artistic game with a first-person perspective, full-body tracking, an avatar and alternative game controllers crafted by weaving belts with conductive wool.

The headset experience lasts around fifteen minutes, during which you have to remain standing. It is an intimate and private encounter between the user and the interpreter.

End of residency presentation

To mark the end of her residency at TOPO, Yesica Duarte organised a public meeting on Saturday 4 March 2023 at 3pm, during which she presented her work and the results of her residency at TOPO. The artist spoke about the relationship between the body and virtual reality, and how the immersive medium affects perception, self-awareness and learning.