Augmented Poetry: “The Machine Who”

I’ve created the first prototype of an augmented poem: poetry with a layer of augmented reality(AR) that alters the meaning of the text. A poem, projected on a wall, or printed in a book, or displayed on a monitor, can be viewed through a smartphone where blanks left in the original text are filled in, thus altering the meaning of the poem.

Take a look at an AR poem here!

(Open the link and scan the QR code, this will take you to the AR viewing website. Once you’re there, you point your phone at the poem.)

With this poem I’m exploring the possibilities of augmented poetry: poetry with a layer of augmented reality(AR) that alters the meaning of the text. A poem, projected on a wall, or printed in a book, or displayed on a monitor, can be viewed through a smartphone where blanks left in the original text are filled in, thus altering the meaning of the poem. Through the alteration of a text by means of an added digital layer, I want to explore the nature of the written word, and draw parallels between the inherent ambivalence of language and collective feelings of ambivalence towards the current state of technological advancement.

Take a look at an AR poem here!