Endodrome

Endodrome is the first virtual reality artwork by artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster. Officially selected for the main exhibition of the 58th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition "May You Live in Interesting Times", this experience has a title derived from the Greek words endon, meaning "inside", and dromos, meaning "race" or "race track". Endodrome continues to explore notions of space, alternative states of consciousness and interiority. The installation can be experienced by five people at a time, via a theatrical device suggesting a seated session, incorporating sound, light and projections of the visions that viewers witness in their VR headset.

The eight-minute experience begins by immersing the audience in a hypnotic monochrome environment, before moving into an abstract visual space in which brightly coloured fields move with the gaze and breath. The work draws on the artist's experience of sound-induced cognitive trance with musician and author Corine Sombrun, who collaborated with the artist to create an accompanying soundscape.

Image: Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Endodrome, virtual reality environment, 2019, Courtesy the artist