dinkolas-LookingOutwards03

Aerobanquets RMX is an immersive VR/gastronomy experience by Mattia Casalegno. The participants sit at a table and are served food on small platters, while wearing a VR headset. The headset displays forms that were generated based on the flavor profiles of the food items. The recipes and cooking were made by chef Flavio Ghignoni Carestia based on the Futurist Cookbook. The futurist cuisine fits perfectly with the rest of the concept, somewhat alien and pretty dang cool.

While I think the implementation of the project could have been pushed further, with a more seamless way of consuming the food, more refined graphics, and potentially more interpersonal interaction; the concept of involving food with a VR experience is a very good one. Taste and smell seem to be the most neglected senses in interactive art, so I really like the idea of integrating food into the experience. I also like the idea going the other way, integrating visual experience into eating a meal.

This piece suggests the possibility of a full sensory experience, and only with fairly recent technologies could the senses could be very carefully calibrated and coordinated. We could move beyond the visual/olfactory of scratch n' sniff markers or auditory/gastronomic of a restaurant with live music, and into an artificial and hand-tailored world that incorporates every sense.