AR Public Art: Alien Superstar by Tourmaline
Hosted by:
Kinfolk
Artist:
Tourmaline
Location:
Outside the SoHo Building
108 Greene Street
New York, NY
Alien Superstar by Tourmaline is an AR art installation available for public viewing via the Kinfolk app in SoHo, New York City.
To make sure black voices and stories can be heard widely, Kinfolk has launched its public AR exhibition in New York City — Alien Superstar by Tourmaline is one of the four augmented reality monuments placed in various locations in the city as part of Kinfolk’s efforts to highlighting black history in Signature Series.
“Those who pioneered new ways of expression, learning, understanding, or achieving equal treatment are the real reason we are here today. And our Kinfolk should inspire the continuous pursuit of achieving, accomplishing, knowing, and understanding even more.”
As you navigate through the bustling streets of SoHo, pay a visit to Alien Superstar – it’s an 2023 AR artwork by New York-based artist Tourmaline that’s available for viewing via Kinfolk’s free application. Tourmaline’s visionary work introduces spectators to the captivating story of Mary Jones, a Black sex worker who lived in the 1800s.
Today, SoHo may be one of the most luxurious neighborhoods of the city with high-end stores and lavish townhouses, but this artwork reveals how in the 1830s many of these buildings were brothels.
Named Peter Sewally at birth, Mary Jones lived and worked in a brothel right around where the artwork is accessible today in the Greenwich Village. The artwork depicts Mary Jones with all her grandness while underlining that her gender presentation and fashion choices ignited fascination in her circle – her peers complimented her for choosing to live her life in an unorthodox way and assured her that she “looked so much better” wearing traditional women’s clothes.
Mary was arrested early morning on June 15, 1836 for stealing the wallet of a white male client she had met the evening before.
The app reveals the spectacular AR monument while sharing the story of Mary Jones along with notes from the NYC Department of Records and Information services, which emphasizes that “the trial focused far more on Jones' gender presentation and fashion than the actual charges or the happenings in court.”
Jones was ultimately sentenced to five years hard labor in Sing Sing State Prison —the maximum for her offense.
Her untraditional gender presentation being the biggest concern in the court records, Alien Superstar is digitally installed in Mary Jones’ neighborhood almost two centuries after her time as an appreciation of her story and the often-erased history of the queer community.
Alien Superstar by Tourmaline is an AR art installation available for public viewing via the Kinfolk app in SoHo, New York City. Photo credit: Barbara Anastacio
The artist behind the AR monument is Tourmaline, a New-York based artist known for her work that highlights histories of marginalized people — particularly Black trans and queer people. Tourmaline is recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020 by Time Magazine and won the biggest art award associated with the Swiss edition of the Art Basel art fair, The Baloise Art Prize, in 2022.
Alien Superstar is accessible to public on location via the free Kinfolk app. The technology behind the project is developed by the company behind Pokémon Go, Niantic Lightship. The AR experiences are site-specific, which means that the user needs to be at the location in order to see the digital monuments through the Kinfolk application.
Kinfolk is an augmented reality archive of Black and Brown history – they put accessible technology in the hands of the people in order to inspire greater equity through visibility of the monumental figures who came before us.
“Monuments matter in civic spaces because they hold the power to shape our collective narratives and consciousness. Monuments stand as silent storytellers, each one whispering tales of our shared past, serving as a reflection of what we, as a society, have chosen to value and remember. Unfortunately, through our existing monuments, it is clear that Black and Brown lives are not valued.”
Alien Superstar by Tourmaline is an AR art installation available for public viewing via the Kinfolk app in SoHo, New York City.
Kinfolk’s Signature Series is a collective movement to use art and technology to redefine public spaces and preserve our collective memory by exploring new digital monuments activated at four landmarks across NYC through the Kinfolk app.
In line with bringing attention to underrepresented historical contexts and growing awareness of inequity and injustice, Kinfolk activates public spaces with historical AR experiences that highlight the contributions and success of communities of color.
“Our hope is that the knowledge and experiences we share, and the activism they spur, will help to heal centuries of intentional neglect and oppression. To make an impact, we provide a platform to uplift those underserved by our society’s selective and white supremacist historical narrative-building.”
Alien Superstar by Tourmaline is amongst four AR art installations available for public viewing via the Kinfolk app in New York City.
Along with Tourmaline’s Alien Superstar, AR monuments by Pamela Council, Derrick Adams, and Hank Willis Thomas are available to see at the designated public spaces across the city.
Adams’s Alma Green (Open Book) and Victor Hugo Green (Open Book) are visible in Harlem – the installation honors the creators of The Negro Motorist Green Book that directed black travelers toward non-racist businesses from the 1930s to the 60s. Pamela Council's digital Fountain for Survivors’s original, physical version was installed in Times Square in 2021, and the AR sculpture is available to view at the Gansevoort Peninsula, and All Power to All People by Hank Willis Thomas viewable at Brooklyn Bridge Park with the Kinfolk app.
Kinfolk received a grant of $1.8m from the Mellon Foundation to bring the potential of the medium to other cities. The organization will be expanding the Signature Series to five other US cities in the coming months.
Visit the Kinfolk app to see if there’s any AR installations in your city – share your pictures and comment below your thoughts when you visit them!
Read next:
Augmented Reality Art: Your full guide
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