Will Pappenheimer, John Craig Freeman: Virta-Flaneurazine: Clinical Study

Title:

Virta-Flaneurazine: Clinical Study

Artist(s) and People Involved:

Creation Year:

2008-2009

Medium:

Virtual/physical installation, performance and computer programme

Artist Statement:

Virta-Flaneurazine (VF) is a potent programmable mood-changing drug for Second Life (SL). It is identified as part of the Wanderment family of psychotropic drugs because it automatically causes the user to aimlessly roam the distant lands of online 3D worlds. VF was originally developed to treat Wanderlust Deficit Disorder (WDD) an increasingly common disorder characterized by long hours of rote repetitive Internet use and the inability of individuals to depart from their daily routines in both their physical and virtual lives. As the prograchemistry takes effect, users find themselves erratically teleporting to random locations, behaving strangely, seeing digephemera and walking or flying in circuitous paths. Many users report that the experience allows them to see SL in a renewed light, as somehow reconfigured outside the everyday limitations of a fast growing grid of virtual investment properties. VF derives from a formula which the authors of this study, Dr* JC Freeman and Dr* WD Pappenheimer, synthesised some time ago. For obvious and important reasons, Pappenheimer and Freeman have conducted a complete laboratory synthesis and began clinical trials so that the nature, effects and side effects of the drug can be reliably documented. The clinical study includes an exhibition that dispenses and evaluates the drug for volunteer subjects. The installation includes an exam area, a waiting room and live SL projection screens for patient and public viewing. Visitors can observe and participate in the trial experience of the drug.