ATUA reimagines the realm of Pacific gods in this new sculptural AR experience, claiming space for gender diverse identities impacted by colonial first contact and creating an intimate portal for users to see themselves reflected as vital to their pan Pacific cultural heritage and an intrinsic part of the cosmos. Become immersed in an expansive tale of time and space, in this intimate user experience that reframes Pacific cosmology through a Queer Indigenous lens. 

Enabled through IOS devices, the ATUA experience begins with Te Kore—the Void, a space of abundance and limitless potential. Activated through the power of Augmented Reality, you can witness Te Kore being manifested into a physical form as a cosmic being, forged from ancestral memory and adorned in cultural navigation.  

The digital sculpture is composed of a physical or digital pou (landmark), from which an Augmented Reality deity leaps when viewed through handheld devices. Designed to be used in a museum-based setting, we needed to be able to orient the Augmented Reality system without being ‘set up’ each time. We implemented a hybrid approach of image and world-based tracking so that each viewer perceives the right orientation of the experience, regardless of which angle the pou is being viewed from. 

 ATUA | CULTURAL CONTEXT 

“Atua” is a term that derives from the pan-Pacific pantheon and shared elemental, spiritual, cultural, and ethereal gods that make up and occupy the cosmos and Pulotu—the underworld. These forces, and sometimes beings, are considered our ancient gods. In some cultures, colonial contact played a significant role in erasing some of these cultural knowledge systems, and they were often mythologized  throughout the course of human history and dismissed as pagan belief systems. However, in recent years the practice of decolonization has inspired Indigenous folk to reclaim these systems and their old gods.