Pejman Foundation: Argo Factory is proud to present “Elsewhere,” an interactive VR installation by artists Hayoun Kwon (South Korea/France) and Balthazar Auxietre (France) curated by Emad Aleebrahim.
‌With the use of VR technology, the artists tend to create poetic experiences based on human memories. A direct and reciprocal connection between the audience and the artwork. In this interactive installation and by using these VR headsets the participants will have the chance to immerse themselves in multifaceted experiences. Personal experiences not in front of images but physical ones inside them!
Emad Aleebrahim Dehkordi: Virtual reality is considered to be an extension of cinema by some and its death by others. How do you consider it? Do you think that we will subsequently be able to watch all of the movies on virtual reality headsets?
Balthazar Auxietre: I believe that virtual reality is neither like a younger brother to cinema nor can it be considered as its dead. I feel that, today, we are within a period of transition, in which cinema is becoming less of a motivator and more recent forms of technology are presenting a growing appetite for newer forms of media and inventions. The advent of all these new technologies will create an important wave and VR will become the normal way of consuming the media.
However since we are artists and we want to make the best use of virtual reality, we have to specify our approach to VR so that we are not just going to add something to a recent wave. To me, one should not utilize this technology simply because it is new; it should be made use of in order to create something new.
To coincide with the exhibition, “Elsewhere” Tri-lingual catalogue was published and made available.

ABOUT HAYOUN KWON
Born in 1981 in Seoul, Hayoun Kwon lives between France and South Korea. Her work was projected during the “Cinéma du Réel” Festival at the Centre Pompidou (Paris) in 2014, and “Doc Fortnight” at MoMA (New York) in February 2017. Winner of the Prix Découverte des Amis du Palais de Tokyo in 2015, Hayoun Kwon has also been awarded the first Prize of the 62ndInternational Short Film Festival (Oberhausen, Germany, 2016), the Arte Creative Newcomer Award during the European Media Art Festival (Osnabrück, Germany, 2014) and the Prix Jeune Création in 2012. After graduating from Le Fresnoy in 2011, she is now represented by the Galerie Sator, Paris.

ABOUT BALTHAZAR AUXIETRE
Born in 1985, lives and works in Paris. Balthazar Auxietre is a graduate of Le Fresnoy studio national des arts contemporains, after a course in the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. Currently, he is creative director at Innerspace, a virtual reality studio he co-founded in 2014. Since, he has produced several narrative-driven experiences shipped with the launch of all major VR headsets. Balthazar is one of the world’s most recognized creator in the field of VR and his piece Firebird : La Péri has received numerous awards for both innovation and artistic direction.
Translation (French to Persian): Nikoo Ghasemi
Translation (Persian to English): Namdar Shirazian