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OVAH-THE R34LN355 BALL

Ovah is an immersive XR experience that draws inspiration from the vibrant and powerful world of ballroom, an underground queer subculture. Departing from traditional VR experiences that rely on physical embodiments, Ovah introduces a groundbreaking approach that challenges the status quo to explores the intricate relationship between liberation and constraint.

Unlike mainstream VR experiences that encourage extensive body movement, Ovah takes an opposing perspective. It utilizes a customed exoskeleton to intentionally constrain physical body movements to a certain degree. The hands, a central element in ballroom culture has been reimagined as a medium for physical constraints and virtual liberation, represented by a pair of meticulously designed 3D printed VR gloves serving as an interface between the experiencer's physical body and the virtual world.

Ovah goes beyond being just a system; it is a dramatic play, where participants become both audiences and performers. Seamlessly and unconsciously, they navigate the transition and correlation between physical constraints and virtual liberation. In Ovah, virtual reality transcends the need for physical body movements, opening up new avenues to develop empathy and forge new kinships through immersive VR technologies, ultimately redefining our understanding of identity and queerness. Each scene in Ovah contributes to the narrative, showcasing the gradual interplay between constraint and liberation.

  • Teng Xue
    Director
  • Teng Xue
    Writer
  • Teng Xue
    Producer
  • SACHA
    Key Cast
  • Teng Xue
    Lead Artists
  • Jiadan Chu
    Lead Artists
  • Project Type:
    Virtual Reality, Performance, Installation, Game, Interactive Film, Augmented Reality
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    December 17, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Ars Electronica Festival 2022
  • London Festival of Architecture
Director Biography - Teng Xue

Teng Xue is a multidisciplinary artist with a playful yet deeply thoughtful approach to creativity. His work is a colorful tapestry of architecture, VR, installations, films, and experiential events, each infused with his unique blend of curiosity and cultural storytelling. Teng's creations are driven by his roots, his exploration of queer identity, the fluidity of body movement, spirituality, and an ongoing quest to craft an audiovisual language that plays with space, light, sound, and visuals in unexpected ways.

After earning a Bachelor of Architecture in Architecture and Urban Design from Beijing Forestry University, Teng journeyed to London, where he completed a Master's in Design for Performance and Interaction at the Bartlett School of Architecture. Along the way, he discovered that the lines between art, design, and technology were meant to be blurred—and he’s been happily coloring outside them ever since.

From designing shimmering light festivals in China to collaborating on immersive, interactive projects in Europe, Teng has never been content to stay in one creative lane. Whether it’s building responsive architectural systems, conjuring dreamy installations, or crafting surreal digital experiences, he’s always looking for ways to invite people into his world of wonder.

Through Elixirt Studio, a design collective he co-founded, Teng helps bring big, boundary-breaking ideas to life. His work has graced global stages and galleries, from the Ars Electronica Festival in Austria to Florence’s contemporary art spaces. While the recognition he’s received along the way is lovely, Teng prefers to focus on the joy of creating, collaborating, and constantly discovering new ways to make art that speaks to people.

He’s not just making art—he’s making moments. Moments that make you stop, look closer, and maybe even smile. That’s Teng’s way.

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Director Statement

As a queer experimental film director, my work is a vibrant collision of movement, identity, and visual storytelling, a celebration of the queer experience and the many ways it defies and redefines boundaries. My latest project—a film and XR experience—is inspired by the artistry of voguing and explores the powerful interplay between constraint and liberation.

In this work, voguing becomes more than a dance; it’s a language of defiance and expression. It embodies the tension between restriction and release, the push and pull of societal expectations, and the creative resilience born from adversity. By immersing the audience in an interactive world, I aim to invite them into the pulse of this transformative energy, where movements carve space for freedom and light finds its way through even the tightest confines.

The XR component amplifies this vision, allowing viewers to experience the physicality of constraint and liberation firsthand. It’s a space where the body speaks louder than words, where the visuals are alive with the rhythm of resilience, and where every frame pulses with the uncontainable spirit of queer joy and struggle.

This project is deeply personal yet universal—a reflection of what it means to find beauty in resistance, to thrive within and beyond imposed limits, and to reimagine liberation as a collective act of becoming. Through it, I hope to honor the voices and bodies that have danced, posed, and vogued their way to freedom, inspiring us all to move boldly in our own journeys of self-expression.