ROAM is part of an on going investigation into journeys between virtual and physical places through interactions between artist, audience and organisations, navigated through socially and culturally embedded technologies.

ROAM aims to enter into a collaborative relationship with an individual member of the audience as they become a contributor to and performer of a personalised work. The collaborator is chosen by a curator and invited to participate in a physical negotiation with the convergence of real and virtual environments, using video games as a popular and accessible form of virtual landscape. The impact of physical use: creases, stains, wear and tear are allowed to have an impact on the virtual as personal preferences, actions and impressions become wearable garments.

Bio
Jen Southern is an artist and Senior Lecturer in Multimedia and Installation Art at the University of Huddersfield. Her collaborative works explore popular uses of technology in relation to issues of site and definitions of place. Her work has been exhibited in Australia, Canada, Europe, Mexico and New Zealand. Recent UK shows include: Artranspennine 03; Wear Me, Magna, Rotherham; The Photographers Gallery, London; The Yorkshire Sculpture Park; The Gallery, Stratford and ‘Urban Cycles’ Inter:face 02; Manchester. Jen is currently continuing her research through learning to fly a light aircraft and a flight simulator.