MIKA JOHNSON
THE INFINITE LIBRARY
The Infinite Library is a traveling installation which reimagines the future of libraries as interactive spaces that engage visitors through multisensory forms of storytelling. It seeks to embed human stories within a much grander narrative, one which includes the birth of our planet and the evolution of all life forms. The ‘Library’ part of the installation is conceived as a living organism, a kind of embodiment of knowledge that introduces itself to visitors personally before inviting them to explore its house. The installation includes a QR code game, holograms, 3D-printed models in jars (called The Volumes), audiovisual works, and the project’s central piece: a vast VR library set in a cave. Within this virtual space, The Infinite Library hosts smaller sub-libraries (called The Realms), dedicated to Polynesian Navigation, South Indian Puppetry, and European Alchemy. The Infinite Library launched with it’s World Premiere in March 2022 in New Delhi, India. The Infinite Library was produced by the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller/Bhavan New Delhi, High Road Stories, and Daisy with Rider Productions. The installation consists of the main experience (around 15 minutes), which uses the Valve Index VR headset, within a 2 x 2 meters sandbox; 3 Oculus Quest II headsets for the sub-libraries (4 minutes each), audiovisual works, 3D-printed objects, and plants.
ILIOS
running time: 9 MIN.
language: English, German
countries of production: Czech Republic/Germany
year of release: 2020
ILIOS is a meditation on the state of flux we are all living in today: a moment where patterns emerge only to change in such rapid succession that normality can only be assumed in short bursts. The project evolved as a correspondence between artists Marcel Karnapke and Mika Johnson during the COVID-19 shut down after a digital project they were working on was put on hold, due to Johnson being stranded all spring in North America. The two artists continued to communicate, discussing the meaning of the shut down and COVID-19 in their personal lives. ILIOS is the result of that conversation.
Directors: Marcel Karnapke, Mika Johnson
Concept and VR Development: Marcel Karnapke
Script: Mika Johnson
Sound: Jackson Bierfeldt
Narrators: Mika Johnson, Jackson Bierfeldt
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K
Imagine an immersive tour of Prague where the world of Franz Kafka suddenly comes to life via the cell phone app called K. A map appears. You are five minutes away from one of Kafka’s two former residences in Prague’s Josefov neighborhood, the first being Pařížská 36. Demolished in 1945 and now a hotel, the building appears when you hold up your cell phone, its former facade re-constructed out of photographs from the late 19th century. An audio guide tells you that Kafka penned “The Metamorphosis” here. A floor plan of the flat appears, illustrating how the arrangement of rooms in the story mirrors the building’s layout.
VRWandlung / Metamorphosis VR
Wake up in the virtual world as Gregor Samsa, not only late for work but transformed into a giant insect. Experience the alienation of Kafka's classic text like never before, this time immersed in the hyper-realistic body of an insect - with six legs, mandibles, and antenna - and surrounded by Gregor's possessions: books, papers, and drawers filled with items that you can only explore, as your family members and manager pound on your door, demanding an explanation.
PRESS KIT
Inside VRWandlung
Inside VRwandlung tells the story of how the Goethe Institut, in Prague, produced the groundbreaking virtual reality adaptation of Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," which took half a year and over thirty people to complete. Director Mika Johnson explains the project from concept to completion, highlighting collaborations between the artistic teams involved, including the creation of a miniature model of Gregor Samsa's room.
