Ways of Being in the Metaverse
Nico Daunt
Michelle McKay
Codec Ultra
American literary critic J. Hillis Miller described deconstruction as “not a dismantling of the structure of a text, but a demonstration that it has already dismantled itself. Apparently its solid ground is no rock, but thin air.” Tonight’s artists present us with a look behind the facade of the digital screens all around us in the 21st century to explore the relationship between end users and the digital medium in the internet age. Through glitch art and heavily manipulated imagery, Michelle McKay and Codec Ultra question the assumptions and interfaces that govern the systems behind devices we hold in our hands and the systems that govern our society. And Nico Daunt will facilitate an interactive psychedelic game-scape controlled by the audience.
Nico Daunt functions as a contributing artist and developer helping to spur the decentralization of the world of digital art and new media. Their work explores metaphysical realities-merging arcane and complex thought structures with modern technology. Their engaging installative art practice examines the collective unconscious urge to interact with technology, the mercurial nature of the human form, and the absurdity of this corporeal realm.
Nico has been a longtime member of Portland’s Immersive Media Group, a local mixed reality collective that has exhibited work at New Relic and Design Reality’s Immersed Conference. They currently work as an independent AR developer, tech strategist and astrologer. Their visual work is exhibited often in Portland bars, basements, and music venues alike.
Codec Ultra is a non-binary trans artist from Portland, OR seeking an end to the hellscape that is capitalist dystopia.
