Subterranean Matters is a collaborative artistic research and VR experience made by Baris Pekcagliyan, Warja Rybakova, Paulina Greta and Nayeli Vega under the “Stretching Senses School” as a response to the exhibition “Stretching Materialities”, curated by the Object Space Agency of the Cluster of Excellence “Matters of Activity” at Humboldt University in Berlin.

The research underpinning this VR piece is revolving around the exploration of time, memory, and human impact on the land, through stones with a non-human perspective as the main point of view.

http://www.subterraneanmatter.com/

Subterranean Matters uses technology to create scenes and interactions inspired by physical reality. In the first level, environment is created by VR sculpting and texturing according to references from micro-images. In the second level, environment created by 3D scans by using Lidar scanning, photogrammetry, and macro photogrammetry to capture details from little stones. Moreover, 2D textures we captured from a physical limestone cave and 2D textures we captured from Rüdelsdorf mine are used to create maps for PBR materials, and by using tessellation procedural walls are created. Also the hands in second level, created by VR sculpting, rigged, and textured by the same material from the cave. In the third level, we use Houdini VFX to create procedural buildings, and explorable environment are textured with the photographs and data we collect about the effect of human impact.


PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL

Subterranean Matters is an attempt to use technology as a means of an extended exploration of the physical world. Stones were analyzed as materials that have embedded in their surfaces traces of history, growth, and change. These surfaces were scanned, digitalized, and used in this project as textures to build virtual environments to manipulate and live on different sizes and time scales. In this way the VR experience allows users to immerse themselves in what usually would be unobtainable, invisible or perceivable only as a small material surface. The project used real data to build most of the digital elements, from color textures to 3D environments. We started to research Berlin-Brandenburg’s land, soil, and rocks. During our research, we came across the Rüdersdorf limestone mine in Berlin

STRETCHING SURFACES

This level is meant to explore the natural aspect of the rocks, their growing dynamics, the excavation process of their surface and their different structural forms. This level is bringing the visitor into a cave, made of limestone, letting him interact with the growing rocks, and excavating his way to the final environment. It plays with the idea of Plato's cave, and asks the question of what is real and what is not.

The entire environment of the cave level is created by either 3D scans or by procedurally created 3D models out of textures that were taken from physical environments.

MICROSCOPIC LANDSCAPES, micro level

This level is meant to explore the microstructure of the limestone and to give an insight into the microscopic world where time is slow and invisible to the human eye. The environment is based on microscopic image references from CaCO3,the main molecule of limestones. CaCO3 is present in the bones of all animals and creates our own skeleton. The environment is carefully sculptured in VR using scientific visual references.

HUMAN IMPACT, LAND, INFRASTRUCTURES

The third level is meant to explore the human manipulation and use of stone matter: the creation of infrastructures, architectures, cities. The exploitation of the natural resources and the subsequent impact on the landscape, leave a trace that can be seen from far with satellites.

The core concept of our project is based on textures and visual materials as matter to use for creating sensory environments. Visual research was carried out both on the rocks and the mine mechanical structure.

   

TACTILE EXPLORATION while in VR

Tactile exploration based on different scale-maps. This part comes as an extension of the VR experience, reconnecting the virtual visual elements with correspondent physical structures.

THE PROJECT

The project consists of 3 different levels in a VR installation, and 3D printings on a physical level, supporting the VR experience with a tactile feeling.