Spacing the Boundary: An Exploration of Perforated Virtual Spaces

This paper discusses the performative boundary between real and virtual spaces, as it constitutes itself based on the conditions, abilities, and potentials of Virtual Reality (VR). In addressing specific issues of the users’ embodiment, the authors argue that one of the greatest challenges of VR is its capability to connect the virtual and the real; a potential that is considered as fundamentally spatial. The premises and conditions of the production of such an interfacing space are explored in relation to its underlying generative dynamic processes, the superimposition of real and virtual places, and their inhabitation. Joining the fields of interactive art and computer science, the authors’ discussion unfolds based on two of their collaborative works: the CAVE environment Uzume (2002) and the tele-immersive installation Ma a–Veil of Illusion (2004).