Augmenting Reality with Imaginary Friends

This paper shares work and thinking from my Imaginary Friends project, an augmented reality artwork at the intersection of conceptual, technological, and relational practices. Participants in the project are given the conceptual challenge to photograph their imaginary friends, requiring a rethinking of the documentary power of the camera and a reorientation towards questions of creativity and the imagination. These images are presented in galleries and as geolocated augmented reality public artworks, available to viewers through a free smartphone app. A map of locations of the AR works is also created to facilitate a city-wide walking tour of imaginary friends. I see this project both as an advocacy effort for a more serious consideration of the imaginary and as a beautiful metaphor in which augmented reality stands as a technological arena populated (in my project) with the imaginary friends of others. Responding directly to the themes and concerns of the panel, this paper will also share some of the conversations I have had with galleries and curators about the logistics of presentation, as well as the solutions I have developed for my own project, using a combination of traditional gallery display and augmented reality interfaces to share work with the public. Samples from the project can be seen here: http://www.tedhiebert.net/site/friends.php