watering the somatic oasis is an internationally exhibited virtual reality installation that examines temporality, embodiment, and technological acceleration through immersive and somatic practices. the work invites participants to enter a guided vr experience in which digital water, rhythm, and bilateral movement techniques function as regulatory mechanisms for the nervous system. against the backdrop of ai-driven acceleration, platform temporality, and continuous optimization, the installation proposes slowness as both an embodied methodology and a critical position—foregrounding duration, attentional presence, and corporeal recalibration.
the project has been presented in leading cultural and institutional contexts, including open solitude (november 2025) at akademie schloss solitude, stuttgart, and neuromantics at soho house, new york city, where it was exhibited as watering the somatic oasis, curated by uaad art and danielle peterson. an upcoming presentation at ifa gallery, stuttgart, will further situate the work within transnational discourses on post-digital subjectivity, immersive media, and embodied knowledge production. watering the somatic oasis was developed during the dreaming beyond ai: in the loop, a multidisciplinary, collaborative program bringing together artists, researchers, activists, and policymakers to critically interrogate dominant imaginaries of artificial intelligence. the residency emphasized speculative, embodied, and ethical approaches to ai, fostering alternative narratives beyond extractive and efficiency-driven technological paradigms. mentored by idil galip, moisés horta, neema githere, petja ivanova, and vanessa a. opoku, the program provided a framework for investigating questions of time, temporality, and sensory governance within ai-mediated environments. the residency culminated in in the loop at kampnagel, hamburg, in collaboration with deichtorhallen hamburg, alongside a publicly accessible podcast series documenting the artists’ research and processes. the work was subsequently featured in the solo exhibition digital somatics: to breathe as stars do at ori gallery (february 7 – april 30, 2025), portland, oregon. the exhibition articulated an ongoing research-based practice of digital somatics, integrating immersive technologies, game engines, narrative world-building, and somatic programming. within this framework, technology is approached not as an instrument of acceleration but as a site for recalibrating perception, fostering repair, and re-situating the body in relation to planetary and cosmic temporalities. most recently, watering the somatic oasis was selected for the demo2025 festival at new museum / new inc, new york city, where it was presented within the art & code track algorithms / collective mechanics. the presentation was curated by sheldon gooch, curator at the museum of modern art (moma). in addition to exhibiting the installation, i was invited to deliver an artist talk to a curated audience of new inc year 11 incubator members, alumni, and affiliated practitioners—a professional cohort comprising artists, designers, studios, and collectives working at the intersection of contemporary art, critical technology, and social practice. through its iterative presentations across institutional, curatorial, and research-driven contexts, watering the somatic oasis positions itself as a critical intervention in contemporary discourses on immersive media, embodied cognition, and technological time—advocating for slowness, care, and somatic attention as necessary counter-practices within accelerated digital cultures.
