in may 2021, digital artist and video game designer rick gillis (@funsworkings) released butterflowers, a digital playground in which users tend to a garden nourished by memories from the past. with additional art and and design by easton self (@eastonself) and audio by david farrow (@certain_lives), butterflowers exudes a gurgling, metallic ambiance that swirls around the wizards, plants, and butterflies populating the void.

to celebrate the game, rick and david are debuting a collaborative installation in which attendees can wander through the void in real time, reflecting on all of the mistakes that have led them to the intersection of arts and technology. Friday July 15th experience butterflowers: how to become the perfect human @wondervillenyc grounded in butterflowers's void and inspired by surveillance culture, facial augmentation software in photo booths, butterflies wearing cowboy boots, and breakcore, the installation deploys audio/visual interactivity between hardware samplers and the game's AI to immerse participants within an alien landscape. combining webcam surveillance footage with multi-channel projections, the project asks how long can one stare at themself before they become unrecognizable.

the otherworldly un-world of butterflowers will further be scored by performances by new jersey-based digital hardcore act purity control (@purityctrl @windspoem), hardware techno tinkerer Evangeline (@soulseekingarrangement), and DJ trans kafka (@trans__kafka).

we care, realize your potential, become the perfect human being