PFERDINAND

PFERDINAND - A VR riding experience between fantasy, escape and fascination

I could show PFERDINAND as part of the exhibition "Object Art in Focus" at the Kornschütte Lucerne in August/September 2024 and at the Haus zur Glocke, Steckborn, as part of the exhibition "Das Weite suchen" (June/July 2025).

In my interactive installation PFERDINAND, I explore my own fascination with horses - a fascination that has accompanied me since childhood and that many girls in particular share. I ask myself: What causes this attraction? What role do longings, thoughts of escape or even addiction play in it?

For this project, I wrote the story of Pferdinand - a tired horse who only sees the world as grey in grey and escapes into a frenzy to experience color, lightness and meaning:

PFERDINAND's Story
Pferdinand is a tired, lame horse who is no longer good for anything. He often hangs around listlessly, stares in front of him and feels the world is just gray in gray. To keep his spirits up, he sometimes drinks like a horse. Well, actually he is a horse. But they normally only drink water. Pferdinand is just not normal. With his 900 kilograms, he can get quite drunk.
The coveted whiskey bottles fly around his ears while the world becomes more and more colorful. A pleasant warmth flows through his body, as if he were sitting in a bathtub. He sees himself galloping lightly across pink meadows and feels good because he is not alone: mythical creatures such as unicorns appear with their golden horns shining in the mild spring sun. The whole world is covered in glittering stardust. Fish and other hairy creatures cross his path. It is as if everything is floating, nothing is solid, there is no longer any gravitational force. Pferdinand's body has also changed: His movements are dynamic and supple, instead of his bristly mane, purple silk hair blows gently in the wind. He feels relaxed, young and desirable.
Unfortunately, the intoxication doesn't last long. The colorful world darkens visibly, there is no one left. The trees, which have just bloomed in all their colors, now only show barren branches. Pferdinand begins to sweat. He feels dizzy and nauseous: the previously bright, bright colors blend into a rotating spiral and become increasingly monotonous. His skull is buzzing as if a thousand drills are wildly drilling into his brain. The noise and vibrations are almost unbearable. Pferdinand closes his eyes and finally falls asleep from sheer exhaustion.
When he wakes up and opens his eyes, everything around him is gray in gray again. Frustrated, he grabs a tuft of "grass" and chews and chews, and the world becomes more and more colorful again ...

Game designer Helen Galliker turned my story into an immersive VR experience. Using selected works of art that she found on my website - such as the iridescent watercolor fish - and her own fantasy elements, she created an interactive world in which visitors have to open all their tree eyes so that Pferdinand's cosmos can fully unfold.
Sitting on a saddle, equipped with a headset, they immerse themselves in a sphere between escapism, addiction and longing. What begins playfully develops into an emotional journey - full of highs and crashes, through landscapes that are both dreamlike and disturbing.