You were speakers at Conference for the Curious by VPRO Medialab in Eindhoven. Which developments do you currently see in the media?
Wander: ‘In the industry there are clear developments in the field of virtual reality, which is getting bigger. As a design studio we want to use the whole body as medium. We don’t design only for the eyes or ears, but also use the other senses to create a more immersive experience. We want to carry people along and emotionally involve them with the story. When a film is good, you forget you are watching a film and become completely immersed in the story. With virtual reality you find yourself in the space where the story is taking place. And what we are trying to do is to feel and experience what the main character actually experiences.’
Mark: ‘With the emergence of virtual reality, the visual element has become even more dominant and the body is forgotten. When you are in virtual reality, you see and hear everything, but you don't feel anything, you miss something. We want to give perception a place, we think this is the next step in new media. We have tried this with smell, for example. In our installation Famous Deaths you lie in a refrigerated box, like in a mortuary. You experience the last moments of deceased celebrities, such as Whitney Houston and J.F. Kennedy. You hear the story and also smell the odours that go with that story. In this way we want to emphasise the physical and emotional aspects of the story.’