[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx-iEUU5B4E&w=560&h=315]

It has been my pleasure over the last months to be collaborating with Ars Virtua members and others on the Third Faction /hug Project.

This video was created for the gallery presentation /hug opened last month at the Laguna Art Museum. This installation, a part of the show WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon – runs until October 11, 2009. The video was shot and edited by me, with script by Thomas Asmuth and featuring appearances by many /hug members.

about /hug
/hug is a project of The Third Faction Collective. The Third Faction is an affiliation of geographically dispersed entities with a collective interest in exposing binary systems in synthetic environments via in-world performances, the collective operates simultaneously across various platforms including World of Warcraft and Second Life.

Third Faction members question the politics, allegiances, and narrative conventions of Synthetic Worlds. the cross-factional collective officially formed in World of Warcraft on valentine’s day 2008 in a self-declared temporary autonomous zone.
see also www.thirdfaction.org

about /hug installation:
/hug” [ or slashhug] is a Third Faction project which has established a non governmental aid organization in World of Warcraft. This exhibit is a mixed reality installation that demonstrates the work of the /hug collective and is inspired in part by the Red Cross. This installation encourages viewer interaction in carrying out Non Governmental Organization of Azeroth missions via hands-on participation.

The picture below was taken remotely by Sliz (my WoW avvie), participating in the opening live from St. John’s, Newfoundland via World of Warcraft and ustream, along with Bowwtoxx, coming from Australia, and other /huggers present both inside of World of Warcraft and live at the Laguna Art Museum. The installtion, which features demonstrations of missions and video and printed information on the work of /hug, is part of the WoW Emergent Media Phenomenon show, currently installed at Laguna Art Museum, curated by Grace Kook-Anderson. See more images from the project on the /Hug Flickr Page