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Yambe Tam Deep Dive 2021 Installation view at FACT Courtesy of the artist Image by Rob Battersby 14

Deep Dive (2021)

Deep Dive is an ambient video game that explores the depths of the ocean: allowing you to descend deeper into the unknown as you master your mind through meditation. Using sensory and creative technologies, Tam explores the connection between human presence of mind, and uncertainty of the natural world.

An oceanic landscape portrays the ways in which unconscious human behaviours are profoundly affecting deep-sea ecosystems. Although inaccessible to us in our everyday lives, these underwater communities are vital to the continued existence of life on Earth. Gaming software, sound design and VR bring to life a dreamlike vision of this unexplored world, an invitation to meet the creatures that exist there on their own terms. The artwork measures your levels of attention using a simple EEG sensor which detects electrical activity in the brain. The more you relax, the further you sink into the deep, encountering unexpected creatures which inhabit and care for these mysterious environments.

Deep Dive directly connects your state of mind with the state of the planet: a journey through the depths of the ocean becomes a meditation: encouraging a personal journey of self-understanding, inviting us to surrender and find comfort in the unfamiliar.

Commissioned by FACT (Liverpool, UK) as part of the Jerwood Arts FACT Fellowship Programme, supported by Jerwood Arts. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England and funded by Liverpool City Council.

With special thanks to Call & Response Studios (callandresponse.org.uk), Albert Barbu (albrt.co.uk), and the Sounds Too Many & TBA21-Academy sound archive.

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