ETIDOHPA

The End of earth

Etidorhpa is an immersive exploration of ritual, silence, and the weight of inherited belief systems. Drawing from Shia’s commemoration and the ritual of Rozeh (روضه)—where mourners gather in confined spaces under the voice of a singular authority—the project critically reinterprets these settings through a surreal, interactive experience. It dissects these ritualistic structures, transforming them into an immersive narrative where figures in prayer appear with deliberately absent mouths and closed eyes—a stark visual metaphor for the suppression of dissent and the erasure of individual thought within collective mourning and faith-based gatherings. Disembodied faces linger in the shadows, embodying the tension between presence and absence, devotion and submission, questioning the power dynamics embedded within inherited traditions.

At its core, Etidorhpa is not merely an immersive retelling of these motifs but a poetic reconstruction that challenges their ideological weight. The novel Etidorhpa itself evokes an apocalyptic vision of the unknown—an unraveling of reality that resonates deeply with my artistic exploration. In my approach, text is not static; it is a living entity, an integral part of the immersive space. Words do not merely describe but activate the environment, triggering sound, light, and motion as the reader’s gaze moves through them. This interplay of text and sensory elements transforms reading into an act of discovery, where narrative unfolds not just in language but in the space itself. By merging poetic storytelling with VR’s spatial potential, Etidorhpa reimagines how literature can exist beyond the page, as an interactive and participatory experience.

As users enter Etidorhpa, they step into a world that shifts between the familiar and the surreal, evoking the psychological weight of enclosed ritualistic spaces. The experience begins in mixed reality, where a tangible book acts as a portal. Touching its pages dissolves the physical surroundings, pulling them into a fully immersive VR space shaped by shadows, abandoned Iranian castles, dimly lit tekyehs, and the suffocating closeness of Rozeh gatherings.

The user first enters a dark, indistinct space where little is visible. Only when they begin to read the embedded text beneath the windows does the scene start to reveal itself. As they progress, moonlight filters through the windows, gradually illuminating the surroundings. With each word, the environment becomes clearer, revealing that the user is trapped within a space lined with eerie, disembodied heads—silent, mouthless, and unsettling.

Then they move through a liminal passage lined with stacked, mournful faces, bathed in a pulsating red glow. As the user reads, the environment reacts—some faces twitch, some turn toward them, some whisper in an incomprehensible language.

Then, there is a suffocating passage where the walls of faces press inward. Low murmurs rise into an unsettling hum, triggered by specific words. The closer the user moves, the more the faces animate, their expressions shifting between sorrow and quiet accusation. The act of reading itself becomes tense, altering the space with each word.

The confined space suddenly opens into a vast, eerie gathering. Silent figures encircle a glowing mass. The text instructs the user to reach out—upon touching the light, the figures’ eyes snap open, releasing a deafening crescendo of long-suppressed voices. The world dissolves into light, returning them to reality with a lingering unease.

Throughout Etidorhpa, text is not just a narrative tool—it shapes movement, sound, and the environment. Eye-tracking mechanics ensure words reveal themselves only as the user reads, collapsing the boundary between reader and participant. By merging poetic language with VR mechanics, Etidorhpa turns reading into a visceral, psychological journey.

In Etidorhpa, the user’s hands play a crucial role in shaping the experience, bridging the gap between the physical and virtual realms. At the beginning, they reach out to touch a real book, triggering their transition into the immersive world. Within the VR space, hand interactions are minimal yet deeply symbolic—extending a hand to touch floating words brings them to life, altering the environment through light, sound, and movement. In key moments, hands become tools of revelation; hovering over a disembodied face might cause it to shift, tremble, or whisper, while reaching toward the glowing mass in The Enigmatic Circle in the Field unleashes a powerful, climactic response. These interactions emphasize the physicality of reading, transforming it from a passive act into an embodied ritual where touch, presence, and discovery are deeply intertwined.

Reimagining Reading in Virtual Space

In Etidorhpa, reading is not a passive act but a dynamic, spatial experience that reshapes the immersive world in real-time. Unlike traditional storytelling, where text remains static on a page, here, words float in midair, waiting to be uncovered through the user’s gaze. This creative reading mechanic blurs the line between language and environment, making the act of reading an interaction rather than a mere cognitive process. The text itself is alive—illuminating dark spaces, triggering auditory echoes, and even shifting the architecture of the world. By integrating eye-tracking and environmental reactions, Etidorhpa transforms literature into a spatial event, allowing readers to step inside the text and experience its weight in a tangible, visceral way.

Words as Catalysts for Imagination and Meaning

The interactive reading mechanic is more than a visual effect—it is the driving force of Etidorhpa‘s narrative. Each word read actively alters the environment, reinforcing the power of language in shaping perception and meaning. This mechanic mirrors the way poetry functions: a single phrase can evoke vast emotions, and here, it can also reshape the world itself. In deep, meaningful texts, words hold the potential to unlock hidden truths, to bring light into darkness—both literally and metaphorically. In Etidorhpa, imagination is not confined to the mind but extends into the space around the reader, allowing them to physically engage with the poetic nature of the experience. The act of reading becomes an act of creation, where every phrase constructs new realities, much like poetry has done for centuries in the human imagination.

Tagged Personal

ETIDOHPA

The End of earth

Reimagining Reading in Virtual Space

Words as Catalysts for Imagination and Meaning

Mostafa S. Ebrahimi