How much life remains in the digital reconstruction of a deceased person?
What will no longer have a place in the future, corporate-controlled digital world?

Building on themes explored in the 2021 hyperlink installation 404-TOTLINK created for Impulse Theater Festival (Germany), [EOL]. End of Life allows us to gaze into a not-so-distant future through the lens of a Meta Quest 3 virtual reality headset. The audience steps into the role of an ‘outsourced freelancer’ for the fictional multibillion-dollar corporation IRL (Imaginary Reality Landscapes).

As freelancers, they must decide which abandoned worlds still deserve to exist in the virtual utopias of tomorrow’s metaverse– and which should be permanently erased. [EOL]. End of Life confronts these virtual travellers with a range of walkable, 3D environments, each containing remnants of their human creators. In this slowly decaying Metaverse 1.0, now disconnected from the online servers, the digital echoes of past existences persist – along with the question of how we will one day be remembered, and how we want to be remembered.

A QUICK LOOK |TRAILER

How does this performance work in VR?
[EOL]. End of Life is a fully immersive VR performance, programmed in Unity and exclusively designed for one of the most advanced headsets currently available: the Meta Quest 3. Interaction in the virtual space is performed solely using your hands, without the use of controllers.

Movement Space:
Each visitor is given approximately 10 square meters of space to move freely. In virtual reality, you move as you would in the real world. Tools like teleportation or controller-based locomotion are not used, significantly reducing the likelihood of experiencing motion sickness.

Duration:
Each audience member will spend about 85 minutes in VR. There will be brief moments when they can sit down (on the floor), but the performance is designed as a walkable installation within the virtual space, where they will often stand or walk.

Ethiopian Debut:
The Ethiopian debut of [EOL]. End of Life has been made possible through the support offered by the German Federal Foreign Office and the cooperation between the Goethe-Institut Äthiopien and the Austrian Embassy Addis Ababa. The Alle School of Fine Arts and Design in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia serves as host for the African premiere of the highly acclaimed media installation.

As part of the overall programme, the following activities are organised:
Workshop/Lecture(Invitation Only) on VR Design and Programming/Storytelling on Wednesday, 15. April 2026 at the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design and Goethe-Institut Äthiopien.

Official Opening of[EOL]. End of Life at the Goethe-Institut Äthiopien on Friday, 17. April 2026 at 6:00 pm. The event is open to the public and will feature a hybrid discussion with Kai Krösche from DARUM.

Public Exhibition of [EOL]. End of Life 18. April till 18. May 2026 at the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design (Location) in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, Monday to Saturday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The installation will run simultaneously across three VR headsets, six days per week.