They Kill

Augmented Reality Art Project

With the advent of the augmented reality technology, the physical world is being augmented through the addition of data, such as images, video, sound and smells, which are introduced in a particular space, but also captured within that same space. This brave new world grows mostly due to the massive market introduction of mobile devices equipped with powerful cpu´s and sensors, which are allowing us to merge the digital and the real into a single, common space.

This technology opened up a new territory for art that is now allowed to enroll in a space that is monitored/watched at the same time in which the artist can be more than a teller of fragmented narratives of reality and immateriality.

Inspired by the movie “They live” (1988 – John Carpenter), we present you an augmented reality art project called “They kill”, that brings a new cinematic narrative which overlays and unifies several spaces into one, making artistic use of time, motion and data.

In the movie “They live”, the hero discovers a pair of special sunglasses. Wearing them, he is able to see the world as an alien would see it. In fact, it can be seen as a metaphor for what it really is: people being bombarded by media and government messages. In our project, using tablets/smartphones, the users can look at several food industry logos and brandings and see a new reality that aims to expose hidden secrets that may contribute to a rethinking about the our current food culture.