Artist
Daniel Ernst
Daniel Ernst (b. 1985) is a multi-award-winning independent artist internationally recognized as a pioneer in VR art. Since 2012, through his studio The Shoebox Diorama, he has created experimental VR dioramas and immersive experiences, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to explore the liminal space between the real and virtual. His work has been selected worldwide at festivals such as the Venice Film Festival, IFFR, AMAZE, Ludwig Museum Of Modern Arts and SXSW, and won a Golden Calf for his work Die Fernweh Oper.
Artwork
The Great Orator

The Great Orator lets you visit a virtual world of a TV medium who died at the height of her fame when she and her followers merged with an AI into a shared consciousness. Now a medium between your world and hers, she shares ever-changing memories when you point at any object, however small or insignificant it may seem, shaped by her followers and a live news feed from your world. As you move deeper into her world, you discover why you are the most important person in her world.
Explainer: https://youtu.be/h0QqPdRsy44
Running Time: 45 Min
Credits:
Daniel Ernst (The Shoebox Diorama) – Art, Director & Producer
Thomas Möhlmann – Poet
Niels Egberts – AI Development
Misha Velthuis, Armeno Alberts – Music
Danny Groot, Anej Golčar, Bart Limburg – 3D Art
Max Sombroek – Sound Design
Maarten Tromp – Server-Side AI
With collaborations from :
Codeglue, Jan Bijster, LIACS, KO Productions, Joeri Lefévre, Submarine Channel
With support from :
Creative Industries Fund NL, Literary Fund NL, Film Fund NL, Municipality The
Hague, Venice Gap Market (2019), Holland Film Meeting(2019), IFFR Cinemart
(2020), IFFR Darkrooms (2025).
〷◠‿◠〷 This project is part of our festival track "MUNICH Beyond" supported by Film Fernseh Fonds Bayern (FFF).
In collaboration with
Bald buchbar