Gor Margaryan: Immersion of War

In a time when images of war are omnipresent, the question arises as to how immersive media influences the perception of war and how these media can be used to make the drama of the situation during war tangible.

Project start:
2024
Project completion:
2027
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In the project "Immersion of War," I explore the representation of war in VR/360-degree videos. The goal is to develop artistic and cinematic approaches to staging these events using immersive media that enable a different kind of experience and critical perception of war.  
The focus is on analyzing current media representations, particularly 360-degree videos of war events in Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine. These drone footages offer an immediate insight into the war zone. The project proposes to re-contextualize the aesthetics of these images artistically. By combining them with other audiovisual materials, the original representation is deconstructed and transformed into "counter-images" that offer an alternative perspective on war.  
The core of the project is the development of a VR essay film that explores new ways to make the drama of war tangible in the context of immersive media. The essay film uses the possibilities of VR to create a deeper connection to the topic of war and to raise awareness of its effects.

  • Project lead: Gor Margaryan
  • Contact: gor.margaryan(at)yahoo.de
  • CV: Gor Margaryan is a filmmaker and media artist whose artistic and scientific research focuses on the ethical dimension of war films in virtual reality (VR). He explores the possibilities and development of VR as an innovative cinematic medium and examines the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creative process. Margaryan's work has been characterized for several years by his active participation at the intersection of science and art. For example, he developed his essay film "Hydrography" (2017) in cooperation with the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research. His film "Phantom Flight" (2022), which also deals with the problem of representing war, was awarded the predicate "particularly valuable" by the German Film and Media Evaluation Board.
    In the summer semester of 2024, Margaryan will represent the professorship for "Film/Time based Media" at the Center for Media at the Muthesius Kunsthochschule Kiel.
  • Scientific PhD in the discipline:  Media Studies
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