The Irreducible Ensemble: Place-Hampi

Abstract

This discussion examines several philosophical considerations (phenomenology, embodiment, corpothetics and mediation) which form powerful interlocking arguments, whose qualities are prerequisites for building presence and place in virtual heritage landscapes. The discourse draws upon Interpretive Archaeology and Interpretive Archaeological Systems theory and it is in Symmetrical Archaeology theory that we find a basis for complex emergent narratives in immersive virtual environments. Firmly rooted in praxis, the argument explores these issues through research associated with applications from the Place-Hampi project. Place-Hampi is an embodied theatre of participation in the drama of Hindu mythology focused at the most significant archaeological, historical and sacred locations of the World Heritage site Vijayanagara (Hampi), South India. Through the Advanced Visualization Interactive Environment a translation of spatial potential is enacted in Place-Hampi where participants are able to transform myths into the drama of a coevolutionary narrative by their actions within the virtual landscape and through the creation of a virtual heritage embodiment of a real world dynamic. Place-Hampi restores symmetry to the autonomy of interactions within virtual heritage and allows machine and human entities to make narrative sense of each other's actions (as an entanglement of people-things cf Bruno Latour).