Captain Nemo by PYARé: Winner of the XR Fall Residency programme – Vancouver 2024

We are delighted to announce the results of the call for projects for the ‘XR Fall Residency – Vancouver’ 2024 programme.

Following a pre-selection phase and a pitch session followed by intense discussions, PYARé’s Captain Nemo project was chosen from among all the applications. Congratulations to him! The selection committee would also like to underline the quality of all the projects and thank all the applicants for their participation. 

Captain Nemo is a XR experience that pushes back the boundaries of virtual reality storytelling, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in an Indian steampunk universe by slipping into the shoes of Captain Nemo. An imaginary sequel to Jules Verne’s famous 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, this VR work takes user on an exploration of the marine world, where they cross paths with a robotic Kraken liberated by the British Empire. It’s an experience that revisits a classic piece of French literature from a postcolonial angle, and resonates with contemporary themes of ecological awareness, technological ethics and the spirit of exploration. 

This project is part of a dynamic that runs through all of PYARé’s work, namely a desire to make the link between personal experience and collective, shared imagination. Through Captain Nemo, this rediscovery is achieved both through the plot and through the use of XR. 

As part of this residency, the artist will be travelling to Vancouver in October to develop his project. We look forward to following the progress of this work and its final realisation.

In partnership with the Embassy of France in Canada, the Consulate General of Vancouver as part of their ‘West-West Residencies’ programme, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, the Alliance française de Vancouver and with the support of the Institut français.