As wildfires rage across North America and smoke settles over the Berkshires, artist cari ann shim sham* finds hope and healing in digital creation. Her newest XR art collection, “Movement for Miracles,” offers a sanctuary for viewers worldwide, premiering at the Making our Miracles Exhibition—curated by Cansu Perker for the Digital Arts Blog as part of the Wrong Biennial, running from November 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.
shim sham*, self-described as a nature worshiper, began this project in response to the environmental crisis that forced her indoors. “The world is on fire,” she writes, “and more and more we are forced to recess indoors, which has us turn to online spaces where we can gather, enjoy, and even heal.” Her art transforms the outdoors into immersive XR worlds—accessible from anywhere with Wi-Fi and a device, inviting viewers to enter, explore, and find solace.
From Smoke to Miracles: The Creative Journey
The seeds of “movement for miracles” were planted in the “summer of smoke” in 2023, when Canadian wildfires first choked the skies. While retreating to the Muffin House in New Hampshire for mushroom hunting and reflection, shim sham* took a series of self-portraits in nature. These images, animated using the Emprops Stable Diffusion model, became the foundation for the GLB collection.
Her journey in 3D art began with Hugging Face, continued through Meshy, and culminated with Monster Mash—the tool that allowed her to animate GLB figures and choreograph their movements. For the Making Our Miracles exhibition, movement was essential; each scene features abstract figures inspired by her 2023 body images, adorned with AI-generated shapes and backgrounds, composited in Adobe Photoshop and brought to life through repeated animation in Monster Mash.
Digital Rituals: Meditations and Miracles
The collection includes prompts that celebrate everyday wonders—a child’s sense of awe, the mystery of a single leaf, and the interconnectedness discovered by meditating at the Caspian Sea. Each artwork is born from collaborative Deep AI prompts, resulting in surreal, optical 3D forms designed for tracing and further transformation in Monster Mash:
Movement for the Wonder of the Universe (Prompt #3) conjures a childlike, hand-drawn orb radiating with abstract energy, inviting viewers to contemplate synchronicity and cosmic connection.
Movement for a Single Leaf (Prompt #14) memorializes an inexplicably placed autumn leaf as a metallic, triangular icon—an altar to divine love and everyday miracles.
Movement for a Meditation that Attracts Fish (Prompt #15) interprets an unforgettable moment of unity with nature as a shimmering, abstract form, capturing the magic of unexpected connection.
Art as Altar, Online as Sanctuary
shim sham*’s work is more than digital play—it’s an altar to the miraculous, a testament to the unseen forces guiding us, even in chaos. In the face of environmental crisis and isolation, “movement for miracles” invites viewers to witness beauty in small gestures and big wonders, to find connection and healing in XR worlds.
“Every leaf is an altar,” shim sham* writes. “We are not alone. Beauty surrounds us when we choose to see it. This is the miracle.”
“movement for miracles” is live at the Wrong Biennial, offering hope, reflection, and healing through the transformative power of digital art.