Electric Apostles
Electric Apostles is a video frieze depicting a tableau of performers, DJs, dancers, and clubgoers from around the world in their embodied virtual reality avatars coming to life for a series of movements before returning to a state of rest. Set in an ancient landscape and to a backdrop of alternative electronica, viewers are immersed in a living monument of queer and transgender aesthetics. Inspired by the Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii and David Cannon Dashiell’s “Queer Mysteries” this living frieze evokes the activeness of history, calling to attention a world being developed in parallel and often unseen virtual reality spaces. The installation features music by Dollii and performances by SF- and LA-based Drag Kings VERA!, Skirt C, Mudd the Two Spirit, Jota Mercury, and Cy Berspace, and performances by VRChat nightlife producers and cultural bearers Skoot, Ru, Tilly, and Dust Bunny. Including 3D scans of NY-based drag performers Sweaty Eddie, and Tuna Melt.
This video work was presented in The Judy’s Digital Immersion Room at Marymount Manhattan (NY, NY) on September 24th, 2025 and accompanied by a dance performance by Ambrose Trataris aka Cy Berspace using experimental virtual reality hardware to track real-time body movements through the online social platform VRChat.