Albert Oehlen: Basement Drawing VR Artwork 2020 Art Basel Hong Kong, 2022 Role: Producer, HTC VIVE Arts Albert Oehlen is one of the most innovative artists, deconstructing the medium of painting from the 1980s to the present. He is also known to be elusive, rarely offering interviews or behind-the-scenes tours of his creative process. When presented with the opportunity to create a VR artwork, Oehlen chose to create a hyperreal avatar of himself. We approached John MacInnes, an expert in digital human and virtual production, for this unique artwork. Entitled Basement Drawing, the VR artwork captures the artist’s avatar creating an ink drawing in his Pasadena basement studio to the beat of a piece of experimental strings and percussion music composed by Oehlen. The environment is lit only by the flickering light of a TV. At times, the artist’s self-portrait on the easel also comes alive to join the ensemble. Through this piece, the artist closes the gap between himself and the viewer, as well as between reality and fiction. Basement Drawing is curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries, and developed by MacInnes Studios in collaboration with HTC VIVE Arts.