Bryn Oh

Bryn Oh is a contemporary virtual world artist known for interactive installations and immersive experiences in virtual environments such as Second Life, Sansar, Steam, and High Fidelity. Oh has been active in the virtual world community since 2007, and is considered one of the pioneers in the field of virtual art.

Oh's work often explores themes of identity, memory, and the relationship between technology and humanity. Their style of artmaking, which they call Immersiva, blends elements of surrealism, fantasy, and storytelling to create captivating and thought-provoking experiences for audiences. In addition to virtual installations that are viewed by an average of 30,000 to 40,000 visitors, Oh has also exhibited work in physical art galleries and museums, expanding the impact and relevance of virtual art in the contemporary art world.

Education Oh's human alter ego studied fine art at Ontario College of Art & Design University, receiving the George A Reid award for painting. They later studied computer animation and learned how to use computer graphics programs such as Softimage XSI and Zbrush.

Style, themes, and notable artworks Outside of Second Life, Oh's human counterpart is a Toronto, Canada-based oil painter, whose large-scale, colorful paintings with chaotic brushstrokes are intended to affect the viewer's perception, cognition and emotional response. Their work on Second Life and other virtual reality platforms has evolved from static sculptural installations, such as steampunk inspired insects to immersive, wide scale environments that envelop residents of the platform through an interplay of narrative elements, aesthetic objects and interactive gameplay. Oh's own persona is a concept. Their anonymous human creator developed them to see whether a pixel-based artist could become as successful and accepted as an artist in real life.

Oh's work in Second Life is characterized by its narrative-driven, atmospheric, and typically haunting surreal environments. These installations usually combine elements of sculpture, painting, poetry, film, and sound to create immersive experiences.

One of Oh's earliest immersiva works created in the metaverse is a trilogy consisting of The Daughter of Gears (2008), Rabbicorn (2009), and Standby (2010). These works depict a melancholy aesthetic narrative of loss and grief, wherein a mother tries to save her dying daughter by transferring her soul into a machine. Hand (2019), Pretty (2020), and Lobby Cam (2022).

Hand is the first part of a trilogy of virtual worlds and machinimas created in Second Life, Sansar, and Unreal Engine. It tells the tale of a not too distant future where society has fully transitioned into existing in the virtual realm, living as the personas they desire to be, and leaving their physical bodies behind.

Brittle Epoch is the second chapter of Hand, and follows two of the girls from Hand named Flutter and Juniper, on a long journey from the city to the suburbs, discovering the physical ruins that civilization left behind when they entered their digital nirvana. The environment is dark and moody, to compliment the melancholy narrative.

Exhibitions, awards, and publications Oh's work has been shown in both virtual and physical settings. Notable venues and events where their work has been presented include the exhibition Obedience at the Jewish Museum in Berlin (in collaboration British film director Peter Greenaway and multimedia artist Saskia Boddeke), The Final Five at Jack the Pelican Present in Brooklyn, New York, the World Expo in Shanghai (Madrid Pavilion), and the Art & Algorithms digital festival in Titusville, Florida. Oh's work in the metaverse has been discussed in academic journals and in the books Metaverse Artists: Bryn Oh by Velazquez Bonetto and New Opportunities for Artistic Practice in Virtual Worlds edited by Denise Doyle.