OPHIS Org. is a multimedia installation that explores the seductive yet alienating nature of organizations—where power structures, administrative fantasies, and libidinal obsessions intertwine. Presented at the Beyond Fear exhibition (Cultural Foundation of Tinos, 2023), the work unfolds in three scenes: Pt.1: Entry in the Company | Pt.2: Meeting with the Boss | Pt.3: Managers’ Orgy. Taking its name from the ancient Greek "Ophis" (ὄφις)—meaning snake—the installation exposes the duality of organizations: structured yet consuming, offering control while dissolving individuality.
At the core of OPHIS ORG. is its augmented reality (AR) experience, developed by alāsu.works. The AR application expands the physical installation into an interactive digital layer, triggered by the red branding of the organization. Through their device, visitors enter an alternate corporate reality, where power dynamics, hierarchy, and control mechanisms unfold around them in real time. No longer passive observers, they become embedded within the system—trapped in a digital structure that mirrors the rigid logic of corporate environments.
This AR system operates as a visual algorithm of authority, constructing a parallel space where the installation’s figures—the Boss, the Manager, and the Office Worker—exist beyond the tangible. The viewer’s presence alters the experience, reinforcing the idea that organizations are not static entities but evolving structures fueled by participation, surveillance, and submission. The iguana, an otherwise inconspicuous detail, becomes a critical element within the AR space: a symbol of resistance, of entrapment, or of an escape that may never come. As the digital and physical dimensions intertwine, the question remains: Is there a way out, or is everything already part of the system?
By developing this AR extension, alāsu.works transformed OPHIS ORG. into an experience that is not just seen, but actively inhabited. Augmented reality does not merely reveal hidden elements—it manipulates perception, creating a new corporate gaze, one where power, control, and surveillance are felt as lived experiences.