Drosera Obscura is a deeply immersive XR project that dissolves the boundaries between the organic and the digital through a multi-sensory environment shaped by sight, sound, scent, and touch. Set in a speculative post-human bogscape, the experience invites participants to explore a living world of animatronic flora, reactive soundscapes, and tactile interfaces that blur the line between virtual and physical. Inspired by evolved carnivorous plants and their symbiotic relationships with sound and synthetic biology, Drosera Obscura transforms passive observation into active participation. Participants influence the environment in real-time—disturbing the digital foliage releases subtle fragrances, shifting light patterns, and spatialized sound. The experience expands VR outward, turning an often isolated medium into a performative, theatrical ecosystem that responds to human presence with eerie intimacy and strange beauty.

Artists
Thomas Tucker (Virginia Tech/US)
Brook Kennedy (Virginia Tech/US)
Joseph Kubalak (DREAMS Lab, Virginia Tech/US)
Dongsoo Choi (Virginia Tech/US)
Tohm Judson (US)
Matthew Swarts (Georgia Tech Research Institute/US)
Yamin Xu (Bowling Green State University/US)
Jason Hodge (Virginia Tech/US)
Matt Finn (Virginia Tech/US)
Sydney Dechow (Virginia Tech/US)