A Life of Adventure

“A Life of Adventure” seeks to engage participants in exploring the question of “real self” through a physical interactive location, a world positioned within a world. By bringing a space from the online multiplayer game Final Fantasy XIV into the physical realm, along with my cosplay (portmanteau “costume” and “play”) of my avatar character Kyan, this personally significant example uses sculpture and performance to create a welcoming and contemplative environment in which the boundaries of fantasy and reality are more obviously blurred, so that within, participants may reconsider their multiplicities of self and which is the most “real”. In Final Fantasy XIV, Kyan is the physical form I created that conveys my thoughts, but in cosplay, I am the physical form that conveys Kyan’s thoughts. In this sense there is balance between us where fantasy and reality overlap to create a new identity in which neither one of us is more real than the other. For my final sophomore studio project, I created this tent space, a replica from Kyan’s homeland, so that others may venture inside and contemplate multiplicities of their own realities. The structure is entirely hand made, with custom dyed fabric and laser cut fabric appliques.