Project R-15953

More-Than-Human Avatars: Designing for Care, Ecology, and Relational Worlds (Research)

Virtual environments are designed for human control, reinforcing anthropocentric biases that exclude nonhuman agency. This research reimagines digital embodiment by exploring nonhuman avatar design as a way to challenge identity frameworks and introduce ecological, multispecies perspectives. Rather than merely representing nonhuman entities, it investigates how fungal networks, microbial life, and plant systems can actively shape virtual presence, interaction, and worldbuilding. This study envisions digital spaces as relational ecosystems where new narratives emerge. Through workshops, field studies, and speculative worldbuilding, it integrates ecological practices—such as microbial growth, communal labor, and environmental sensing—into interactive design. Collaborating with interdisciplinary researchers and open-source communities, the project develops experimental avatars that invite meaningful engagement with the nonhuman. At its core, this research is not just about designing nonhuman avatars—it is about expanding how we tell stories in virtual spaces, challenging the dominance of human-centered narratives, and exploring how digital environments can foster new relationships between human and nonhuman entities. In doing so, it proposes a radical shift in how we conceive identity, presence, and interaction in digital worlds.

01 November 2025 - 31 October 2029