The Paseo Project presents a summer 2022 Media Arts residency and installation by CHiKA, a NY-based artist who has been featured at the PASEO (2015, 2018). CHiKA’s time spent working with the Taos community will help inform this engaged month-long residency, grounding it in regional geographic and social dynamics.

CHiKA will present GO03_Paseo, a fusion of physical and nonphysical structures acting in harmony with each other through augmented reality (AR) to inspire people to explore our world with fresh eyes. GO03_Paseo follows GO02_NowHere, on display in Manhattan May - June 2021; and GO01_GI, developed at the 2020 NARS Satellite Residency on Governors Island. 

The idea for GO01_GI came about as a series of virtual sculptures created during the NARS Satellite Residency; due to COVID, there was no public viewing at the artist's studio. The pandemic forced CHiKA to rethink how to show artwork in a safe environment. She realized that by using AR technology, she could deliver virtual sculptures to anybody using smartphones and smart devices. GO02_NowHere 2021 connected five virtual sculptures across New York using a custom geolocation application. The experience brings back the public to the central point —a light installation at the NowHere Gallery in Soho.

The pandemic inspired her to reconnect with people, appreciate her environment, and learn new technology, like augmented reality, that can connect people. Her vision is to create oneness: a cosmos through technology.

CHiKA's choice of name for this project is deliberate. The Japanese homophone 'GO' has a multitude of meanings. In Japanese-Chinese characters, though these words are pronounced similarly to each other, their purposes differ. 'Go' can simultaneously mean 'five' (五), 'pleasure' (娯), 'perceive' (悟), 'protect' (護), and 'together' (互). Paseo is to walk or stroll. She is inviting the community to visit all five locations and (re)connect to Taos in new ways through her installation.

GO03_Paseo connects people through a fusion of physical and nonphysical structures acting in harmony to inspire people to explore our world with fresh eyes. The pandemic introduced a new way of seeing our lives through technology.

The physical heart of GO03_Paseo will be placed at Taos Plaza; the five nonphysical, virtual structures will be placed at significant locations around Taos Plaza, forming a star shape. The five elements of Chinese philosophy and the five Platonic solids are embedded inside of the star for the public to discover, using a custom geolocational app on their smartphone. 

Her choice of five locations, Mabel Dodge Luhan House, Revolt Gallery, Millicent Rogers Museum, Gorge Bridge, and Ranchos de Taos Plaza, surround the central location, Taos Plaza. 

CHiKA feels a deep connection to each of these places, especially the historic Mabel Dodge Luhan House, where artists from all over the world have come to stay, rediscover themselves, and inspire others. Influenced by these strong female figures and artists, she feels as though her time and presence in Taos continues with this tradition, serving as a contribution to this rich artistic lineage.

GO03_Paseo will add a layer of ephemeral vibrancy to the town, and encourage audiences to experience each location in the uncanny space between real and virtual. 

In July CHiKA will work closely with local apprentices to build her installation and give a site-specific projection mapping workshop for the Taos festival in 2022.

About the artist: CHiKA received her BFA at the School of Visual Arts and her Masters from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts. As an educator, she is the founder of a Projection and LED Pixel Mapping Workshop, Mappathon™, teaching mapping techniques and technology, from conceptualizing to finalizing the installation and artist development through her practice. Currently, she is teaching at ITP, NYU, and Queens College.

Since 2017, She has been a Designers-in-Resident at New York Hall of Science in 2020 - 2022. She was a Visible Future Lab resident at the School of Visual Arts in 2019, New Media resident at Mana Contemporary in 2018, Harvestworks workspace resident, Elsewhere artist resident in 2017, Bronx Museum AIM program, Laboratory resident, BRIC Media arts fellow, Triangle workshop resident in 2016, Made in NY Media Center by IFP resident in 2015, Eyebeam Spring Summer resident in 2013, IAC teaching and research fellow and ITP research resident in 2012 and Experimental TV Center resident in 2009.

Her work has been shown in the US as well as in numerous international venues and festivals. Some sites include American Museum of Natural History, Museum of Art and Design, New York Hall of Science, Bronx Museum, Eyebeam, Harvestworks, Hammer Museum ( San Francisco ), San Francisco Art Institute ( San Francisco ), Centre d ’Art Contempo Rain ( Geneva ), Museo Regional de Guadalajara ( Mexico ), Matador Madrid ( Madrid ), International Biennial Contemporary Art ULA-2 ( Venezuela ), Mapping Festival ( Geneva ), Mutek ( Montreal ), Dumbo Art Festival, World of Light ( Los Angeles ), and Arcadia Earth, amongst others.