ANIMA, a key component of Ricoh Prism in Ricoh 3L, Japan, provides a 16-minute immersive experience that redefines our perception of the digital realm. Inspired by RICOH’s photocopier devices, it transcribes the user’s physical attributes into data, giving birth to a “digital twin” by using 3D sensing technology. This process evokes the question: Can the essence of our being – the soul (anima) – be encoded into data and reborn in the digital world? ANIMA offers more than a mere physical experience; it acts as a philosophical conduit, prompting explorations into contemporary concepts of subjectivity, objectivity, the mirror stage, semiology, and structuralism. Through ANIMA, the user is encouraged to delve into the depths of metacognition and confront the philosophical underpinnings of our increasingly digital existence.
