The Glitch

Windsor Phillips

A Glitch in the digital world is a temporary malfunction or fault, but when applied to a different context the term glitch takes on a new meaning. A glitch in the physical form or glitch in the universe (space and time) is an unfamiliar thing or coincidence that grabs our attention, and could possibly be rationalization for unexplained occurrences or alleged paranormal encounters. After studying “The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality” by Brian Greene and “Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimension” by Michio Kaku, it became feasible that once we get past the third dimension of depth we start to unfold the fourth dimension of space and time or duration, which then leads to the fifth dimension of gravity and electromagnetics. Once we are in the fourth dimension and beyond there can be an overlap of dimensions causing or appearing to be what I claim is a physical glitch. This opens up an argument of an un-tangible space where mysteries, conspiracies and the paranormal could possibly be explained. This also allows the concept of time and gravity within space to be considered essential elements of the experience of the interior. 

Through this project I am challenging the boundaries of interior and spatial design by seeing if it is equally as relevant to occupy a non-tangible space, and if that is possible to effectively visualize. While also challenging the relationship between the body and space, and how they affect one another. In order to understand and visualize different dimensions, I have been investigating ways to create a space without boundaries, while applying the importance of storytelling which is conveyed through The Glitch. I have embarked on a journey to discover self-identify reflected in space, using Defamiliarization of self and space to gain a higher understanding of the concept of space. In my project I am seeking to effectively define a physical glitch, or glitch in the universe.

ACT I 

THE DESCENT

Technology was farther ahead than anyone would have been able to predict for this time. The COVID-19 pandemic that started back in 2019-2020 reshaped the way humans lived and forced rapid results in order to deal with turbulent times. Hopes were given up for a vaccine after years of false promises, forcing all mass public transport to be reshaped to keep the world moving and hold on to what little hope was left. People of assorted backgrounds were forced to attempt solutions which lead to the first commercialized, mass produced teleportation system that networked between the cities old motorway gantries. It was a faster and more efficient way to travel, but still a new system to work out. In order to Teleport, the teleportation system copies molecules that travel through part of the fourth dimension from starting gantry to destination gantry, but one day that didn’t happen. There was never a body that made it back to the receiving end. It vanished along the journey, as if it was engulfed by the universe itself. Folded in between space and time, stuck with no way to be found.

ACT II

TRANSCENDANCE

The place was dark and cold. The girl was tumbling down an endless hole, illuminated only by vibrations of light that caused a tinnitus like ringing in her ears composed alongside pulses caused by the shifts in gravity. Gravity was switching back and forth, contradicting itself before something could be seen in the distance. She was aiming straight for it. Space started to form erratically all around her by the guidance of the light that started to form a grid like, cubic structure in the black abyss. She was swallowed by the fabric woven by reality and then suddenly time stopped. 

There was no sound and no light, no air that could be felt and no smell that could be smelt. It was like all of her senses were stolen like her existence as she had known it was. She started to panic in the dark pit of despair, and then suddenly she could feel a deep pain within her. In a dimension where all time exists cohesively her body started to adapt to her surroundings rapidly. Her eyes adapted to the lack of light and formed deep pits upon her face. Her hair feel out in chunks until there was none left. Her fingers and nails grew longer than her natural nails had ever grown before and her skin lost all color, but had the ability to change density. All of these lead to the evolution from human to an entity that embodied and was called ‘The Glitch’. 

ACT III

The Graveyard of Molecules

Suddenly space started to form around The Glitch as if it had waiting for it’s arrival. Reflections and memories of The Glitch’s past , present and future started to manifest in to interior landscapes, forming a Graveyard of Molecules that had been lost and forgotten. Once The Glitch’s dimension designed itself, it was desperate to find a way back home. Anxious but curious, The Glitch embarked on a journey to find herself. A red sea encompassed the bottom half of the space and a door appeared floating along the vanishing point. The Glitch journeyed across the landscape until it reached the door. It opened the door which lead to a dark area with two sets of stairs floating up towards a void within a dense substance. The Glitch walked through the voids to find a room with almost identical elements, but completely different atmosphere. The Glitch started to feel that the deeper within the Graveyard of Molecules that it went, the atmosphere would respond and reflect it’s emotions and mental state. The Glitch once again made it’s way up the stairs that seemed extremely familiar, like Deja Vu. Once it made it’s way through the space an instinctive knowledge suddenly revealed detached occurrences from it’s past.

ACT IIII

Communication and Activation of Space

The Glitch inhabited the newly found space and sat to digest the memories that had been suppressed. This was the only was it could try and reach back home. Each memory contained an object. There was a stereo, radio, television, window, cardigan and sketchbook. These objects acted like portals back to it’s former self, leading it to occurrences in its past.

In my project it is significant to look at unfamiliar space and become uncomfortable in order to expand our horizons and question the truth. The defamiliarization of self and space helps us gain a higher understanding of the concept of space, just like a glitch makes us more aware of our surroundings and existence. It is also important to redefine how we can visualize spaces and aspects of interior design in alternative ways while seeking to re-conceive the human as an evolved character such as The Glitch by looking at Posthumanist theory. The importance of storytelling using narrative inquiry as a tool to engage and show space alongside a designed Mise-en-scene of each scene is also significant through this project. My own narrative effectively engages alternative physics and imagination while using performance and characterization to make a viewer emotionally involved or connected to a fictional space, bringing in and merging multiple fields and disciplines of the creative arts.