Selected works
dark site
2026
dark site is an audiovisual work which imagines a speculative future where data centres and artificial intelligence have become replacements for biological life. In this posthuman landscape, where the construction and maintenance of computing infrastructure no longer requires human presence, dark sites emerge. Dark sites are a category of architecture where light is no longer needed to support human activity. Instead, data centres and server racks sit in permanently unlit facilities, built to run autonomously. They are sealed, monitored, and environmentally controlled by sensors, with airflow and heat managed through contained systems rather than spaces designed for biological life. dark site imagines what artefacts of humanity and planet Earth may remain within these computer clusters, and questions the truth of the data held within them. It is a theoretical rendering of how the past and present may be remembered over extreme timescales. Curated by Resonant Ground for their exhibition 'PLAYFORM'
State of Play: شهر بازی
2024
State of Play: شهر بازی by artists Tara Habibzadeh, Harriet Davey, and Mati Bratkowski, is a game-based participative art performance referencing the 7 Labors of Rostam in the long epic poem Shahnameh by Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (Iran, 977–1010 CE). In it, up to 5 audience members reenact the final labour, controlling their avatars of Rostam in Deep Space 8K, using laser tracking. The final stage is a deconstructed fight against a boss, who is brought to life virtually using a motion capture suit. Supported by the Ars Electronica Futurelab, State of Play: شهر بازی was developed by Tara Habibzadeh, Harriet Davey, and Mati Bratkowski as part of the EU project SHARESPACE. It features music and sound design by snake_case and Himera; during the performances at the Ars Electronica Festival 2024 the boss was portrayed by performer Fran Klein in a motion capture suit. State of Play: شهر بازی is designed for the immersive experience room Deep Space 8K with 16-by-9-meter wall projection and the equally large floor projection. First, the audience is equipped with a set of storylines through contemporary hand-painted paintings referencing the miniature paintings in Shahnameh. The paintings are narrated with a live voice performance in Farsi, accompanied by English headings on the screen. They lead into the interactive game: The visitors are now motivated by the gamemaster to step into the play area. Though simple to participate, State of Play: شهر بازی is a multi-layered complex collaboration. It embodies the anti-colonial aspect of the artistic direction in its historical context, structure, and content through methods of deconstructive philosophy. The work honors ancient and indigenous practices of experiencing Asian literature through authentic narration and direction. It is based on a bottom-up approach to game design and technical production, as well as fair redistribution of knowledge and skills. Built in Unreal Engine, the piece tracks the players using the Futurelab's pharus laser system: As soon as a person enters the arena, they embody an avatar – "little Rostams"- on screen and can control it simply by walking, running, and jumping in the space. The players must work together in different game levels to survive a barrage from the boss character div-e sepid (white demon), controlled in real time by performer Fran Klein wearing a Rokoko motion capture suit. In the first sequence as the performer lifts their left, right, or both hands, a variety of attacks is triggered. In the second sequence, players must learn new avoidance mechanisms to dodge a freezing gaze. In the final sequence, the players must realise that the healing mechanic they have been able to use on each other can now be turned towards the boss to heal him, therefore ending the playthrough. A live performance with narration by a gamemaster is captured and portrayed on screen – coaxing and guiding the players through their journey, helping them learn the mechanics and interactions available to them. Using the apps Live Link Face by Epic Games and Unreal Engine's MetaHuman to drive the performance, it functions similarly to a friendly gamemaster in a tabletop roleplaying game. The piece finishes with an ambivalent and open end, aiming to activate intellectual and spiritual participation, additional to the bodily one. State of Play: شهر بازی is the result of a 10-month-long research, production, and exhibition collaboration by Habibzadeh, Davey, and Bratkowski – supported by the Ars Electronica Futurelab. It was presented at the Ars Electronica Festival 2024, featuring Duo Composer/Sound Designer snake_case (Imogen Davey and Callum Murray), Body and Movement Artist Fran Klein, and Musician Himera. State of Play: شهر بازی was developed as part of the artistic exploration of the European R&D consortium SHARESPACE that involves 14 partners from eight different countries, including the Ars Electronica Futurelab. The main goal of SHARESPACE is bringing extended reality (XR) to an ethically sound level of presence and sociality by furthering the possibilities of interaction in a virtual space using avatars.
Energy Drinks & Bisexual Lighting
2023
HOLON is proud to present Energy Drinks & Bisexual Lighting: A queered take on 90s LAN party culture by Berlin-based 3D artist Harriet Davey in collaboration with UK composer duo snake_case. This newly commissioned installation for HOLON is a playful unraveling of gendered systems and spaces, both in physical and digital life. Davey's mythical non-binary avatars host the visitors through virtual dimensions untouched by structural norms. They exist between spatial sound, gaming stations, soft furnishings, and of course, bisexual lighting: a neon pink and blue lighting device used in cinema, to empower bisexuality which is largely underrepresented on-screen. Davey evokes this scenographic phenomenon in their installation: to intervene the heteronormative aura of the gaming space. In doing so, they highlight the way in which RGB PC's in top gaming arenas accidentally lean into the blue and pink signifiers of bisexual lighting; more-so than the rest of the RGB spectrum. This is despite homophobic attitudes which often pervade the spaces. In response, Energy Drinks & Bisexual Lighting is a portal into gamers' delight. Through the re-appropriation of 90s LAN party culture and modern-day gaming aesthetics, the viewer is guided through a series of experiences. We invite you to step in and transcend the IRL space: to embody and explore the virtual characters, personas, and worlds of Harriet Davey. When dissolving into the glitched audio anomalies of snake_case, the immersive environment complicates the real and virtual, as well as the coded visual language that is inscribed onto bodies, and constructed in social forums. Spatialised sonic artifacts and imperfections co-conspire with the images to queer the immutable conventions of the gaming room into physical, sublime, kinetic objects. Who could you become in a virtual world? Navigate these realms and confront what it means to wear a digital skin.
