Project Spotlight: Floodplains XYZ

Grantee Michelle Brown’s project puts participants in an Australian home during a flood…virtually, of course. Read more about Floodplains XYZ.

A new art project is launching this February, highlighting the impact that climate change has on weather patterns and the habitability of the earth’s existing ecosystem. Michelle Brown, also known under her nom de guerre, The Bad Lament, explores this thought-provoking subject through her digital artwork, “Floodplains XYZ,” which incorporates collectible ‘clean NFTs*’ made on the low-energy impact blockchain, Tezos.

Let’s dive in…

Michelle Brown is a Brisbane-based new media artist, focused on developing virtual & augmented reality experiences. Her work is designed to shape & contextualize our understanding of the earth’s environment through multimedia storytelling — and Floodplains XYZ is no exception to the underlying theme of her creations. The project places virtual participants in an Australian home during a flood… but don’t worry — she gives you a kayak, too.

It was an early Sunday morning in late February, my phone rang and my anxiety started to flutter. It had been raining non-stop in Brisbane for a while. I looked at my phone vibrating, it was my boss from the maker space, and I knew what it meant instantly, as our fabrication lab is on the basement level directly on the banks of the Brisbane river.

‘What do you need me to take?’ he asked.

Panicked, I couldn’t think of anything but my work laptop, racking my brain I drew blanks. It was lucky that I didn’t really had anything of value at work, a bunch of incomplete electronics projects, CNC protoptypes and some fancy acrylic I was still debating what what art project to use it for.

But that question continued to haunt me over the coming weeks as I saw the devastation the floods caused. Friends, strangers and entire communities lost everything.

‘What do you need me to take?’

(Artist Statement for Floodplains XYZ)

Floodplains places participants inside an augmented reality 3D-simulation of a home raised above the ground with heavy rain and flood water rising. This multimedia exhibit catapults participants’ minds into living out the real-life experience; highlighting the stress, anxiety, and devastation that rising water can have on those whose homes are impacted by flooding.

With no more than 3 minutes to search the house, you have to select five collectible tokens (NFTs) to take with you (out of 10 in total).

The participant’s story unfolds depending on the items they choose to keep — and participants continue to receive updates on the story through NFT drops in their Tezos wallets. Future drops are also plugged in to unlock limited edition items and special access to unique puzzle pieces — including hidden Easter Egg collectibles and more. Entry requires the purchase of a Floodplains XYZ token, available for 1 XTZ. If you haven’t already, click here to create your Tezos wallet.

Participants can access this thrilling survival experience either on a desktop browser connected to a Tezos Wallet, or as a VR experience on a compatible headset. This immersive 3D-experience is ultimately a thought-provoking exercise highlighting personal choices, consumer culture, and the anxiety & stress caused by climate disasters that we are all prone to experiencing, like flooding.

Floodplains XYZ will launch its first pop-up exhibit in conjunction with NFT Paris for public access (24–25 Feb). An opening night preview on will be held in Paris on February 23 from 6–9 PM. Register here for an invitation.

Opening night’s events will host a brief presentation on the background and goals of the project, making it an excellent & intriguing opportunity for the Web3 community to experience the way blockchain technology can be utilized to cultivate emotional experiences through the lens of augmented reality, to inspire and to improve the humanitarian support after a disastrous event.

About the project:

Extreme weather events are an urgent and often neglected subject that has been the subject of much discussion and debate recently, with the rise of negationism around climate change and science itself. Through Floodplains XYZ, Michelle brings fresh perspectives to this topic and encourages others to remember that everything in your life is subject to sudden change, and people sometimes do not have a kayak.

Having that in mind, 20% of all income generated through Floodplains XYZ will be donated to climate action via https://www.coolearth.org/.

Whether you are an art lover, climate activist, or simply interested in exploring new ideas, the launch of Floodplains XYZ is an event not to be missed. The project promises to challenge assumptions and spark important conversations — we invite you to be a part of it. Join us on floodplains.xyz to experience it for yourself.

Floodplains XYZ is a grant project of Down The Rabbit Hole, small grants program run by despace berlin.

About Michelle Brown:

Michelle Brown is a Brisbane-based new media artist focused on virtual and augmented reality and creating storytelling experiences in the digital space. Michelle’s work is focused on highlighting climate awareness and has been featured at Sundance Film Festival, Cannes XR, Toronto New Wave Festival, CADAF, GitHub Universe, and Michelle has worked with Snapchat, Google plus many more. Michelle has been working in the Web3 space since early 2020 and is one of the founding artists of the CleanNFT movement, focused on the energy impact of blockchain.

*Clean NFTs: NFTs generated on a blockchain that requires low-energy consumption to mint an NFT.