The Gyre
XR Stories – Climate Challenge
Field with Peter L. Dixon
The Gyre is a non-linear immersive narrative experience that explores our digital consumption using the metaphorical device of gyres, a phenomenon where marine pollution accretes into a swirling ‘garbage vortex’ in the oceans. The project was designed to tell the story of the invisible and forgotten digital content and the meta-data that we rely upon every day to allow our online lives to function. The Gyre highlights how the imprint of our digital world is as impactful as our physical world, representing the data to users in creative and immersive environments, demonstrating the impact of their actions.
The Gyre uses data compiled from users’ social media and web browsing habits to tell the story of the invisible metadata that a digitally engaged society has come to rely upon, with 5.18 billion individuals spending on average 6 hours and 35 minutes per day using connected technology (Kemp, 2023). The project was designed to reflect how the imprint of our digital world is potentially as impactful as our physical world, accounting for an estimated 3.7% of global emissions (energuide.be, 2023). By relating the narrative experience to users’ everyday lives through the use of familiar internet memes and capturing users' habits, the project aims to create a sense of agency and an emotive connection with users’ own stories. Visualising the impact of these digital behaviours and encouraging users to engage with the climate challenge and make adjustments in their daily lives, based upon how the project impacts them. “The Gyre forced me to examine my own impact on the world around us.” (anonymous, 2023)
The Gyre has been showcased on two separate occasions, once in the UK and once in the USA, both in early 2023. The first evidence that the project was starting to impact behavioural change was at the XR Climate Challenge showcase event at the York Guildhall, January 27th, 2023. The comments below reflect some of the feedback received from visitors to the showcase, documented in the XR audience evaluation questionnaire.
Various anonymous authors“The Gyre forced me to examine my own impact on the world around us.” (Anonymous, 2023)
“The Gyre was very cool, being able to see the character change and then be released. Seeing it alongside everyone else’s on the projection showed how varied people’s responses were in the chatbot interaction and made me think about my internet usage.” (Anonymous, 2023)
“You could see a visible representation of the media pollution in the Gyre experience which helped make the message more impactful.” (anonymous, 2023)
Various anonymous authorsThere were also some less favourable comments in the report:
“I didn't emotionally connect to Gyre and that is what keeps me engaged.” (Anonymous, 2023)
“The app felt underwhelming in its conclusion and a bit vague about how my digital footprint contributes to climate change.” (Anonymous, 2023)
These responses helped with further development of the experience and formed part of phase two of the project, which was demonstrated at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin 2023. The project was showcased by the Immersive Futures Lab, who represented the UK’s emerging talent in digital storytelling.
“The Immersive Futures Lab welcomed more than 500 people and the XR Stories demos were a major attraction, sparking intrigue and conversations with visitors from many different institutions and industries.” (Edmunds, 2023, para.4)
