Children of Arcadia — by Mark Skwarek and Joseph Hocking, et al — is a real-time virtual ecosystem which undergoes the stress test of apocalypse to expose the moral fibers of its inhabitants and the flaws in their idealized utopia. Virtual reality and augmented reality are used to combine the physical world of downtown Manhattan with a virtual environment called Arcadia. The work gathers real-time information from the Internet related to the American economy and society and translates this data into either a utopia or apocalypse. These changes create a living 17th-century Baroque painting that shifts between a representation of apocalyptic ruin and one of an idealized utopia…

Arcadia and its inhabitants have their fate determined by information gathered from the Internet. The state of the US is reflected in the state of Arcadia. Similarly, the US is reflected in Arcadia. Children of Arcadia takes place in downtown Manhattan’s financial district. The work creates a virtual overlay that carves away at the capitalist utopia of the financial district with lush rolling green hills. Great care was taken so that the virtual hills, forest, and architecture are in alignment with the architecture and physical space of the financial district. Left in place are the New York Stock Exchange, the Federal Hall Memorial building, and a modified Federal Reserve. These buildings and what they represent determine the fate of the society inhabiting Arcadia. More >>

Children of Arcadia is currently being shown in the Sunshine Museum’s Inaugural Exhibition in Beijing.