Justin Piccirilli

Qualia are individual experimental works developed in multiple media in relationship to particular instances of subjective conscious experience and the human condition. Slices of MRI data captured from the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel are repurposed using segmentation software to create 3D digital objects from scans of my skull and brain. 

The metaphysical nature of the data is then transformed into sculptural pieces combining the traditional lost wax bronze technique used in jewellery vacuum casting with castable 3D printing methods. 

Special thanks to Hannah Terry, Thomas Deacon, Antoine Hacheme, Ian Stoney, Pietro Bardini, Karleung Wai and Alex Lumsden.

De_Motion Sickness was made in Unity game engine as a way of exploring various immersive, interactive narratives in VR. My primary objective was to raise discourse surrounding the UK government's Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to evaluate the ability of disabled benefit claimants to engage in work. Drawing from my personal experiences within this twisted system, I constructed a prototype game that encompassed a broader socio-political backdrop. 

I created a social impact game for change whereby the player wakes up in an operating theatre and then finds themselves crutching towards Tresco House, a WCA centre. You are then teleported into a maze that tells a story through interactive gameplay, inspired by the Greek myth, Theseus and the Minotaur. 

The player must navigate their way around the maze, feel the frustration, the anxiety of the bureaucratic process and be made aware of the wider social-political context of the narrative. The player is made to believe they are in full control and have the agency to make choices within this structure. 

Ludonarrative Dissonance, a term coined by video game designer Clint Hocking had the notion that choice upholds the nature of free will. The game makes you believe you have a choice but the algorithm has other ideas. This is a metaphor for what really exists in the convoluted process of the WCA.

The choice of VR as a medium was influenced by the profound sense of mundane bureaucracy and the altered reality one endures while in a vulnerable state experiencing the outcome. My aim was to create a virtual world devoid of human feelings and emotions—a disassociated state of consciousness experienced within a hollow system. 

The project constantly presented technical hurdles that required debugging and testing. This learning experience has prompted me to reflect on the power of socially impactful storytelling in a playful manner and continue to use VR as a medium. 

Special thanks to Kam Raoofi, Thomas Deacon, Antoine Hacheme, Kyle Ramsey, Connor Reid, Mike Faulkner, Kevin Koekkoek, Charlotte Raymen, Gregory Osborne, Christine Ingaldson and Mel Brimfield.

Eton Mess, 2023

Ingredients:

Living standards, inequality, education, learning conditions, school meals, inflation, pay, working hours, services, rent, food, energy costs, social and medical care and transportation.

Method: 

1. Begin by reducing living standards, except for the wealthiest, to increase inequality. 
2. Reduce funding in education to decrease the standard of learning conditions.
3. Drop school meals and trim childcare.
4. Slowly depreciate pay while extending working hours.
5. Diminish services while increasing rent, food, and energy costs.
6. Mix together tensions within the public transportation system.
7. Season with crushed social and medical care.
8. Make sure the dish is oven-ready, avoid microwaving.
9. Serve cold and let the markets decide the outcome.

Special mention to Francesco De Manincor and Damon Rostron.

LiMA (Logical Integrated Medical Assessment) is a short film manifested during the development of De_Motion Sickness, when I came to the realisation that some parts of the narrative posed potential conflicts and would be better conveyed through dialogue. I decided to write a short script originally intended for the game. However, I chose to produce a short film instead despite the strict time limitations. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to make a film and later regret it. I wanted to explore new ways of storytelling by collaborating with a film crew, and this project provided me with the opportunity to do so.

LiMA, the antagonist, represents an algorithm that uses extensive lifestyle data and clinical information from a benefit claimant who participates in the health assessment. The claimant's answers are compiled into the computer system, which the algorithm analyses to determine both the impact of their disability on their daily life and their fitness for work. As the assessment progresses, the protagonist gradually succumbs to an intense emotional breakdown.

My aim was to craft a story that intertwines elements from the past and speculates on future narratives, highlighting the concept of technological redundancy. As humans become more reliant on technology and machine learning, are the majority of us destined to be a burden on the state as we move into the post-human era?

Special thanks to the crew: Joey Del Negro-Love, Benjy Nug, Rishabh Mehrotra, Precious Amerie Hughes, Saffron Jacobs, Matthew Wong and Mishael Holdbrook.

Special mention to Roddy Canas, Gill Dibben, Harry Johns, Mike Faulkner and Francesco de Manincor.

Infinita Ova for Tate Lates at Tate Modern was inspired by Maria Bartuszova’s life story and is a celebration of her work. In this piece, I borrow the image of her Tree, the site-specific installation as a symbol for life. I play with her Endless Eggs motif for this interactive performance and quote her from the exhibition at the Tate Modern. 

The image of the plum tree in her garden is used to spawn 3D-animated cracked egg-shaped shells in augmented reality. They are thin and hollowed out, multiplied inside one another. This is displayed on an iPhone through an app which I have developed called IO. Bartuszova’s quote (above) is read out whilst the interaction takes place. The work symbolises birth and rebirth, our vulnerability, the fragility and ephemeral nature of existence. Bartuszova combined the effects of gravity, air pressure and touch in her castings, and I adopt similar principles by ‘gravisimulating’ game objects through code, producing the egg reliefs which rise out of the sanctuary and into infinity. The physics of the game objects are triggered when the visitor’s finger activates the haptic touch sensor by way of a virtual button.  

Photo Credit: Sophie Shaw and special thanks to our Head of Programme for Contemporary Art Practice, Professor Chantal Faust for facilitating this memorable event.

The Royal College of Art’s Disabled Students’ Network (DSN) celebrated Disability History Month, International Day of Disabled Persons and Purple Light Up in December 2023. The network produced significant talks, symposia and events designed to generate discussion and visibility around issues concerning accessibility, inequality within and beyond the College.

The DSN at the RCA is a group of disabled students and alumni who formed two years ago. Their drive and focus were to provide a platform for disabled students where they could support and connect with one another. The network is working towards highlighting and improving disability access in and around the RCA, whilst promoting the social model of disability and the Disability Arts Movement.

We are honoured to have been asked to curate the collection for a second year running which has allowed the DSN to bring attention to the significance of disability access, creative practice, equality, as well as personal stories and perspectives within the RCA community. As a result, the Network has been able to reach out to a broader range of disabled students and showcase their talent.