Particpatory Documentary using XR to bring stories to life

“How The Internet Changed My Life” is a participatory documentary by Nicole Ruggiero, where viewers encounter the elusive entity of The Internet through personal stories. Presented as a large-scale installation, this exhibition includes mixed reality portraits, VR worlds, an AR face filter, and a retro website, sharing life changing moments with The Internet as active experiences.

This exhibition was shown previously during Art Basel at HeK Basel in Switzerland (2021), at Kunsthalle Düsseldorf in Germany (2021), and as a solo show at 11 Newel Gallery in Brooklyn, NY during NFT NYC (2022). Editioned NFTs were dropped on Opensea for the first time during the opening of the show at 11 Newel.

Starting in 2018, various individuals were interviewed about their relationship with the net. Six stories were chosen to focus on, pairing each with a portrait and collaborating with friends to create various immersive digital experiences that reflect Nicole’s interpretation of what the internet may be like through each individual’s eyes.