Saints of Paradox: Integrating Cultural and Storytelling Concepts in an Interactive Digital Narrative

Tatiana Tavares; Marcos Mortensen Steagall

doi:10.24135/link2024.v5i1.211

Tatiana Tavares Auckland University of Technology
Marcos Mortensen Steagall (Translator) Auckland University of Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24135/link2024.v5i1.211

Keywords: Realismo maravilhoso, Augmented Reality, Interactive Narrative, Polyvocal, Practice-led research

Abstract

This presentation will discuss a practice-led, artistic research project that explores the potential of an interactive digital narrative to examine the boundaries between reality and imagination within the framework of Realismo Maravilhoso. The practical project, Saints of Paradox, is designed as a printed picture book that can be expanded using AR (Augmented Reality) technology. The structure of the book enables readers to explore different versions of a narrative as presented by three distinct syncretic narrators, or saints. These saints reinterpret the story through alterations in the illustrative content and monologue. The artistic artefact is conceived as a series of pictorial sets in potentia. When the pages are scanned with a mobile device, animated characters appear within a illustrated world, accompanied by a cinematic soundscape. Methodologically, this research is grounded in an artistic research paradigm that supports a heuristic approach for idea discovery and refinement. The research draws on both tacit and explicit knowledge in the development of the fictional narrative, its structure, and stylistic elements. The process involves three interrelated methods: designer’s journals, iterative assembly, overviewing and testing, and the strategic application of feedback. This project contributes to the practice of polyvocal and dialogic storytelling, fostering the creation of a culturally distinctive, transcultural narrative text. It also expands the possibilities of interactivity and immersion within a sequential, print-based narrative.

Author Biographies

Tatiana Tavares, Auckland University of Technology

Dr Tatiana Tavares is a Senior lecturer and the Programme Director for Doctoral Studies at AUT University in Auckland, New Zealand. She is a practicing artist with 15 years experience in the graphic design Industry. Her artistic doctoral thesis (completed in 2019) is concerned with the potentials of polyvocality and interactive digital narrative. Her subjects involve practice-led research methodologies, Latin American syncretism in artistic and literary form, magical realism, and emergent technology. Her design practices cross graphic design, creative writing, illustration, prop making, film, sound design, AR technology and animation.

Marcos Mortensen Steagall, Auckland University of Technology

Marcos Mortensen Steagall is an Associate Professor in the Communication Design department at the Auckland University of Technology - AUT since 2016. He is the Communication Design Postgraduate Strand Leader and Programme Leader for Communication Design and Interaction Design for Year 3. He holds a Master's (2000) and PhD (2006) in Communication & Semiotics acquired from The Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and a PhD in Art & Design from Auckland University of Technology in 2019. Research interest focus on Practice-oriented research in Design through a Global South perspective.