ur cardboard pet is a satire of femininization of user interfaces. As products of a heteronormative, male-dominated industry, devices are often personified as subservient females (Siri, Alexa, etc.) in no small part because this renders them non-threatening.
ur cardboard pet supposes an alternative, a non-normative male entity designed to perform emotional labor rather than administrative tasks. Your personal pet is a comfort object, offering unconditional nonsexual love and endless compliments. Later versions of the project include a personality test to assign your perfect boyfriend from an array of archetypes and an interactive headset that blushes, warms to your touch, and has a heartbeat that accelerates based on the intensity of your grip.
The project makes use of the Google VR SDK, three.js, and handpainted illustrations. The interactive headsets are custom hardware that I designed, assembled, and programmed.
The project has been exhibited at Powrplnt, Haus der Elektronischen Künst, The Museum of Human Achievement, the NYC Internet Yami-ichi, and Carnegie Mellon University's Art&&Code conference.
