BURNOUT
An AR Birthday Celebration by Shaira Castillo
Burnout is a series of interactive AR birthday celebrations exploring the negative effect of a competitive and capitalistic society concerning coming of age. The experience includes five party scenes between the ages of 7 and 21. Users receive gifts at every celebration and check if their wishes came true after tapping to blow out the candles. As the user ages, the pressure and burden to achieve make the celebration less joyful, with the wish lists becoming progressively more serious and bleak. Society’s influence and unrealistic expectations become more evident with each birthday, leading to burnout.
The concept derives from my own struggle with productivity and how it impacts my sense of worth. As I got older, the fear of not doing enough increasingly weighed on me, leading me to believe that success came from my achievements. However, Burnout is a reminder that these societal expectations are unrealistic and toxic. Through AR, users can re-experience birthday celebrations in the early years of life and be reminded of the magic.
ABOUT SHAIRA
I’m Shaira Castillo, and I'm a Filipino interdisciplinary artist. I've recently graduated with a BA in Creative Technologies at the University of Regina. Along with my undergraduate degree, I minored in Film Production and completed a certificate in Business Administration. My creative practice spans photography, filmmaking, visual design, augmented reality, digital storytelling, mixed media, and art installations. Through these mediums, I explore themes of culture, identity, class, nostalgia, attachment, relationships, and coming of age. My goal is to create authentic and moving work that both challenges and comforts viewers.
I'm passionate about combining art and technology to connect with communities I'm part of and proudly share our stories and values. Recent projects I've worked on include creating an augmented reality experience for the University of Regina's 50th Anniversary, co-founding the Creative Technologies and Design Student Society, building the social media presence of a development company, and co-founding a multimedia brand specializing in photography, videography, visual design, and social media content, created to support and celebrate the Filipino community in Regina.
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