Meet Me At Our Spot

2023
Game Simulation

The Secret Garden is a handheld AR experience that invites the audience to visit a hidden garden that only comes to life in extended reality. It is the first chapter in a series of works that encourages the flourishing of starlings by translating bird behaviour to humans through immersive technologies. The songbird’s population is on a huge decline in the UK, and as a result, it is currently on the Red List. According to RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, the average count of starlings has declined by 82% since 1979. In these times of urgency, it is essential to prevent them from becoming regionally extinct.

CREDITS:
Co-creator
Co-creator

TOOLS:
Blender, Lens Studio & Adobe Suite

Junghyun Kim
Sami Malla

AR interaction recorded via smartphone at Kennington Park, London

In her book Staying with the Trouble, Donna Haraway maintains that “decisions must take place somehow in the presence of those who will bear their consequences”. Our activities affect not only the starling population but also their behaviour. We believe that we are responsible for shaping the conditions for more-than-humans to flourish and that entails respecting the autonomy of ecosystems and non-human life. Through our project, we aim to communicate these urgent issues by inviting our audience to embody a starling and indulge in play.

Walkthrough

Project Development

Early-stage research and ideation for The Secret Garden

We worked closely with scientists and ecologists from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the British Trust for Ornithology, and their insights have been essential in helping us develop our project. Our conversations with them revealed that the decline in starlings is mainly due to pesticides and fertilisers harming their main prey, leatherjackets. RSPB also found that starling numbers increase when farmers use more environmentally friendly practices.

Concept sketches and storyboard frames

Poster Design for exhibitions

Simulating bird vision was an essential component of the AR chapter so that the viewer could start thinking like a bird. Birds can see UV light. Theoretically, UV light has no colour, but the hues of purples and pinks have been used while texturing the assets to illustrate and make this spectrum visible to humans. The juxtaposition of the human spectral range and the larger spectral range of bird vision helps the visitor compare how a bird can see more than humans.

QR code placed on a tree in Kensington Gardens

AR experiences can be easily accessed using smartphones or tablets, making them accessible to a wide audience. By placing QR codes in public parks, we can reach people where they already gather. This provides an engaging educational experience without the need for specialised equipment. The park also provides users with contextually relevant information for spatial immersion.

While our project is meant to be experienced outdoors, we also calibrated it for indoor settings.

The Secret Garden at the Graduate Show, Royal College of Art, 2024

The Secret Garden at the British Art Fair, Saatchi Gallery, 2024

The Secret Garden at the SustainLab Exhibition, 2024

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