Soul Food: Virtual Jesa

The project was created by Sam Sunwoo as her MA thesis in the Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies program at Queen’s University, supervised by Sojung Bahng and supported by the MetaMetaverse project.

Koreans’ profound love for food extends far beyond nourishment—food becomes memory, identity, and emotion. This immersive VR project reimagines Jesa, the traditional Korean ancestral rite of offering food to ancestors, through personal memory, embodied perspective, and digital storytelling. Drawing from the intimate rituals of the artist’s family, the work invites participants to enter the ceremony as ancestral spirits themselves. Within this sacred virtual space, food becomes a vessel of remembrance. Participants float across a Jesa table rendered in vivid sensory detail—each dish embedded with recorded wishes, sounds, and textures that evoke family, longing, and spiritual presence. In this liminal realm, the boundary between past and present dissolves, inviting reflection on identity, memory, and what it means to be both remembered and remembering.

Sam Sunwoo is a producer and artist with over eight years of experience in the Korean and Canadian media industries. She has produced internationally acclaimed, award-winning animated series and videos, earning recognition for her creative direction and production expertise. Her current practice explores the immersive media, with a focus on interactive and emotionally resonant storytelling. Through virtual reality and hybrid formats, she examines memory, identity, and cultural rituals, inviting audiences into reflective and participatory experiences.

The real-time VR project is a ten-minute immersive experience that virtually reinterprets the ancestral ritual Jesa. The participant enters a shrine room with an empty Jesa table as a door slowly opens to welcome them. A divine light guides them toward the table, where the Sinwi—an ancestral tablet inscribed with the names of the artist’s grandparents—gradually illuminates. In that moment, the participant connects with the spirit of the deceased grandparents, embodying their presence and immersing themselves in the ritual.

The project was created using Spatial.io, a multiplayer virtual reality platform accessible through PC, mobile devices, and VR headsets: https://www.spatial.io/s/Soul-Food-682d6fb9f734432bbfb0ada5?share=1331244119320456409

Virtual re-creation of the Jesa table (left), referencing the actual Jesa table (right).

The work was exhibited at the Isabel Bader Centre Art and Media Lab from July 21 to 26. The VR experience was complemented by a live demonstration of Jesa with a mock-up of the Jesa table. The artist performed the ritual in front of each group of visitors to introduce the practice and provide cultural and emotional context before they entered the virtual space.

Jesa table mock-up and the live demonstration during the exhibition.

“Rice, soup, and alcohol are served on the table as a gesture of greeting, and the light guides participants toward the empty dishes. As they approach each dish, the corresponding food offering is revealed, accompanied by recorded stories connected to it. These narrative fragments combine the voices of my family, memories of my grandparents, and emotional associations. Transcripts are displayed alongside the audio to aid understanding, and these personal stories make each interaction deeply affective. While listening to these voices, participants can explore the textures of the food items by climbing and observing them in extreme close-up, emphasizing the sensorial nature of memory.

After all the dishes are revealed and the stories heard, the guiding light reappears and leads the participant back toward the exit. The door opens to a bright, transcendent space, suggesting an entry into the afterlife. This progression parallels the real Jesa process—from preparation and offering to reflection and farewell—allowing users to experience both the ritual structure and its emotional resonance. The aim is to cultivate an understanding of Jesa as not only a cultural ritual but also a deeply personal expression of remembrance and care.”

— Sam Sunwoo