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Past, Present, Future

Repatriation of African Art via Virtual Realities

Year: 2023
Medium: Immersive and Interactive Installation
Stack: Photogrammetry, AR, VR, 3D digitization, projection mapping, spatial sound

teaser thesis

Overview

Pieces of art from Congo and much of Africa are often perceived in the Western world as exotic objects to be looked at and photographed. To the Congolese people, those objects are an integral part of their daily lives. It goes without saying that they are central to the collective spirit, sense of the world, cultural identity, and ancestral history. Past, Present, Future is an immersive art installation and research project that utilizes emerging technologies, including photogrammetry, VR, AR, and projection mapping, to re-situate displaced works within a living context through the lens of a Congolese artist, inviting dialogue while modeling a pragmatic pathway for cultural restoration.

  • Problem: decontextualization, custody, fractured memory
  • Approach: access - photogrammetry → reconstruction → recontextualization → exhibition
  • Outcomes: restored access, dialogue, replicable model

Sneak Preview

Methods & Tech

Past, Present, Future uses immersive media to restore access and living context now, while physical restitution efforts continue. The pipeline below outlines how assets move from capture to exhibition.

Scanning with Photogrammetry

Following the selection of pieces from the Miller collection, I photographed each artifacts from multiple angles (150–500 images per object), then processed into detailed 3D meshes and textures, aiming for “water-tight” digital replicas suitable for immersive environments, to create high-fidelity models.

3D Asset Pipeline (ZBrush, Substance, Stager)

After scanning, the raw 3D models were cleaned, retopologized, re-textured, and optimized. High-poly meshes were refined and reduced both during processing and in ZBrush, surface details and materials were rebuilt in Substance Painter, and final assets were prepared and rendered in either autodesk Maya or Adobe Stager..

Virtual Reality Worldbuilding (Unreal Engine)

The immersive environment was built as a virtual reality world using Unreal Engine. I designed the landscape, lighting, and interactions to place recontextualized artifacts inside a living, symbolic environment where time, atmosphere, and narrative all work together.

Projection Mapping

The installation extends beyond headsets through projection mapping. A digitally processed and modified mask form serves as a projection surface, allowing the artifact to appear at monumental scale. Mapping the mask's texture and overlaying moving imagery onto a mask-shaped object (instead of a flat screen) preserves its presence while opening up new interactive storytelling possibilities.

Spatial & Directional Sound Design

The project uses spatial audio and directional sound to deepen immersion. Environmental sounds (water, insects, birds) and the voices of objects are placed in space so they can only be heard from specific locations. Sound becomes another way the artifacts “speak” to the visitors.Through the use of a holosonic speaker the mask's monologue is isolated from the rest of te exhibit.

Web-Based AR Prototyping (HTML5, JS, AR.js)

Earlier stages of the project experimented with web-based augmented reality using HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and AR.js. This prototype explored how the Congolese users could access digitized artifacts on their phones via a single link and marker system, pointing toward more accessible, browser-based futures for digital repatriation.

XR Framework: AR, VR, and Beyond

The thesis works within a broader XR (extended reality) framework that includes VR, AR, and mixed reality. While the final installation focuses on VR and projection mapping, the methodology intentionally keeps the assets and workflows flexible so they can be adapted to future XR platforms and access points.

Digital Repatriation Workflow

Rather than inventing new hardware, the project’s core method is a sequenced workflow: from physical object → high-resolution photography → photogrammetry → 3D cleanup and texturing → XR-ready assets → VR world + projection mapping + spatial sound. This chain models a practical, repeatable approach to digital repatriation that other artists, museums, and communities can adapt.

Impact

Past, Present, Future moves displaced Congolese art and objects out of the glass case and back into a relationship with people, place, and memory. Drawing on Kongo cosmology, oral histories, and immersive technologies (including VR, AR, and projection mapping), it demonstrates how digital returns can restore context, voice, and dignity even when physical repatriation is blocked. Beyond critiquing museum violence, the work offers a practical, community-centered blueprint for retelling stories of African heritage and making them meaningfully accessible to the communities and the wider diaspora, now and for future generations.

Press

Exhibitions & Talks

  • Defense — Blacksburg, VA — May 2023
  • Cube Exhibit — Blacksburg, VA — May 2023
  • Photogrammetry talk — Blacksburg, VA — May 2024

People & Support

  • Rodney Kimbangu — Principal Investigator
  • Rachel Lin Weaver — Thesis co-director
  • Thomas John Tucker — Thesis co-director
  • David Franusich — Thesis Committee
  • Miller Family (Miller Off Main St Galleries) — Artifacts
  • Funding by SIRG Awards, ACCelerate Student Fellowship, Judson-Morrissey Fellowship
  • Exhibition space — ICAT

making of

disclaimer

The Congolese objects featured in this project come from the privately held collection of Robert and Pippi Miller, a Blacksburg-based family who have spent decades acquiring artworks from dealers across the United States. Their collection is not the result of looting, but rather the product of long-term, conscientious collecting and a genuine care for the objects in their care. By opening their home, time, and archive to this research, the Miller family transformed their collection into a living laboratory for experiments in digital return, thereby making possible a new model for reconnecting Congolese communities with their displaced heritage.

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