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Joel Zika, DR.

Assistant Professor in Art and Design for VP
Curriculum Vitae

Quick Information

Contact

Office Hours

By Appointment

Biography

Joel is a digital artist and experience designer whose research examines the themed entertainment industry and the ways it can influence creative practice, his PhD from Swinburne University on the history of Haunted Attractions was granted an Australian Postgraduate Award. He has published extensively on virtual technology and contributed to popular articles on the topic for Vice, The Conversation and Virtual Reality News.

As a creative Dr. Zika has led projects in virtual reality film, documentary, interactive animation and public installation for over 15 years. Recently his creative works have screened at the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech, Federation Square in Melbourne, Dark Mofo in Hobart and Vivid Sydney. His work features in the books ‘Darkness and Light in Australia Art’ and ‘Digital Light’ from Fibreculture books.

Education

PhD

Art, Design and Media
Swinburne University
Melbourne

MFA

Fine Arts and Animation
Monash University
Melbourne

Courses

VIST325

Pre-Visualisation for Virtual Production

3 Credit Hours

Projects + Creative Works

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  • Documentation of ‘Migrating Light’ for Vivid Sydney 2024, the work spans the entire Walsh Bay, Sydney across 12 holographic screens with almost an hour of animation and narrative audio. Produced by Collide Public Art Initiative, the work interprets a century of migrant stories including my own grandparents (pictured in the video). Thanks to @DestinationNSW, the National Maritime Museum and Kent State University.

  • Valley of a Thousand Plants is an immersive installation where audiences are surrounded by a cornucopia of local plants, re-imagined as hyper-real animated forms.

    The visual aesthetic takes the bizarre shapes and beautiful patterns found in the region and combines them with decorative colours and textures like neon and gold, the result is a visual world that situates itself in between the built and natural environments.