May 6, 2022
Facing the challenge of choosing a focus for his PHd thesis in Computational Media Design, Owen Brierley felt the panic we so often feel when the canvas feels too blank, too wide open…But almost immediately he found himself drawing courage from the voice of a mentor dating back nearly 3 decades, specifically on the importance of trusting self in order to enter the void. By his own admission, Owen Brierley’s life has always been about transitions fed by an insatiable curiosity. At times those transitions have felt like, "now what!?" At other times, "what's next?!" But he has never felt a stranger to an ellipsis state and the creative opportunity it has consistently offered. A performer from a very young age, his mind was blown when a friend introduced him to a new computer "fad" called the World Wide Web and he leapt into the brave new world of digital media design and production. A natural ability to bridge gaps in understanding between disparate groups of experts, has allowed him to collaborate across many disciplines in the arts and sciences. In his latest ellipses thinking adventure, Owen is discovering the world of academia and the process of doctoral studies in the Computational Media Design program at the University of Calgary. In this space, Owen is playing with Intelligent Virtual Beings and the human side of research in video gaming and virtual realities. He is fascinated by the relationships we create with Roombas, our wariness of autonomous vehicles, our complex evolving trust with Siri or Alexa, and our joy of watching and interacting with non-player characters in open-world games. Owen knows beauty to exist in these virtual creatures, and is intrigued by how the artists who design them might help us appreciate the beauty in our relationships with them.
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