Hometown XR

Hometown XR is an interactive project that explores the intersections of memory, identity, and technology by transforming digital traces into evolving audiovisual experiences. Drawing from large-scale web archives such as Common Crawl and incorporating audience participation, the project visualizes “hometown memories” through AI-generated imagery and sound. These memories are then reimagined in projection-based installations, creating immersive experiences that merge the real and virtual.

The project raises critical questions about data ethics and representation: How do AI systems interpret human memory? Whose stories are included or excluded in digital archives? By inviting the public to contribute their own memories, Hometown XR reclaims personal data from corporate commodification and turns it into a medium for storytelling, reflection, and community dialogue.

The project engages tech justice by revealing the biases embedded in AI training data and reclaiming personal and cultural narratives from algorithmic control. Through participatory interaction, Hometown XR transforms digital memory into a shared, ethical practice, imagining technological futures grounded in diversity, empathy, and community care rather than exploitation or exclusion.

Hometown XR demonstrates how emerging technologies can be reimagined for the public good. Rather than reinforcing profit-driven uses of data, the project foregrounds collective memory, cultural diversity, and inclusivity. It invites visitors to see technology not just as a tool of extraction, but as a means of fostering connection, dialogue, and equity in civic life.

Hometown XR is a project by Wenjun Chen. You can view more of Wenjun’s work, here.