aground

Not a video game, Aground is slow cinema or tv: nothing happens in the sense of plot or an open gaming narrative. Instead, the screen frames a simultaneous experience of up-close and distant attentions, a visual soundtrack left or right of center.

Aground appears as a sailing vessel held in suspension, cut off from foreground and background. Sparked by J.M.W. Turner's The Slave Ship, Aground looks at delusion, between the impression and the physicality of space, and the pristine, simulated landscapes corrupted only by our sense of time.

As a live app running at 60 fps, each sliver of a moment is unique. Current weather and historic data specific to the Atlantic passage further shape each of the five scenes. The app is part of a series designed specifically for a social environment, viewed at large scale. Recommendation: select a scene and walk away. In its silence, the work will pull you back.