Marvels of Media Exhibition: The Adventure of Nature and the Senses

Being autistic creates an often-heightened sensory experience. Some of us sense what we see, hear, and touch in intense ways, leaving us to appreciate nature and all that exists within it through this lens. Using video art, experimental film, and virtual reality, the artists in this compilation are inspired by plants, rabbits, birds, jellyfish, clouds, water, and structures as they create animations and play with nonlinear forms of cinema.  

Including: 

Night City
Dir. Kyle Davis. 2024, 4 mins. Digital video. This experimental short film expresses the artist’s feelings of living in New York City as an autistic person.   

Daltokki
Dir. Daniel Oliver Lee. 2024, 2 mins. Digital video. This whimsically haunting depiction of a rabbit in the woods combines ethereal live action and animation techniques. 

CMYK Walk in the Woods
Dir. Quinn Koeneman. 2023, 5 mins. Digital video. This experimental animation reconstructs a walk through Busey Woods, a nature preserve in rural Illinois. The animation features 1,200 sequential compositions drawn from three-color risograph prints. Over 360 specific plants, birds, clouds, and human-made structures populate the sequence, which is rooted in meticulous research and taxonomy of local flora.  

As One
Dir. Bec Miriam. 2024. 3 mins. Digital video. An audio voice message and abstract visuals memorialize the filmmaker’s grandmother. The film explores themes of nature, time, memory, and how post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often obscures reality. Using video collage and poetic narration, As One demonstrates the journey to healing through artistic expression. 

Jellyfish Memories
Dir. Eliza Young. 2024, 1 min. Digital video. Inspired by Japanese folktale, this beautifully animated film is told from the perspective and memories of a jellyfish.  

 Exhibition content warning: sounds of bones breaking, prop gun, mild violence, grief. 

Running time: 15 mins. 

Virtual Reality Experiences: 

Booper, Get Home
Thomas Fletcher. 2024. Virtual reality. With art created by Nathan Fletcher, who is on the spectrum, and programming developed by his father, Thomas Fletcher, Booper, Get Home allows players to jump, hop, and skip their way through a colorful, storybook-like platformer game filled with fun puzzles and quests. As the player, you guide a worried but brave adventurer who offers help to those in need as he searches for his way home. Content warning: may cause motion sickness. 

MUD & TKU Student Work XR/VR Gallery
Mike S., Opy S., Pattrick L., Rafat A., Tate B., Xavier A., Rose L., Briana G., Sasha R., Alejan T., Joshua K. and Koby F. 2024. Virtual reality. This collaborative piece created by MUD Foundation and Tech Kids Unlimited’s Digital Agency explores the vast spectrum of artistic expression through a neurodivergent lens, offering a virtual reality exhibition full of digital media work created by students. 

This exhibit is free to the public.