BODYVERSE: A Virtual Journey Inside the Human Body

OASIS Immersion, which specializes in large-scale visual and sonic experiences, has launched BODYVERSE, its first virtual reality exhibition—a four-stage journey that shrinks visitors down to explore the interior of the human body.

The experience unfolds across four consecutive spaces: an introduction room (15 minutes), the VR experience itself (20 minutes), a projection experience (15 minutes), and a lounge area (10 minutes). Since opening in 2021, OASIS has presented 11 immersive exhibitions at its Montréal venue. BODYVERSE is the first to integrate VR headsets.

OASIS partnered with Barcelona-based studio Univrse-XRoam, which also produced the Black Mirror experience in Vieux-Montréal and received special mention in the immersive competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Once visitors don VR headsets, they meet Auguste, a travel agent organizing tours inside the human body. The narrative follows two childhood friends, Léo and Élise, reuniting after years apart. Visitors then shrink and enter Élise's body, exploring what happens in the nose, brain, and intestines when someone falls in love—including the role of scent in attraction based on immune-system differences.

The experience blends edutainment (educational entertainment), explaining biology and anatomy while telling a story and evoking emotion. Visitors can interact with the environment by directing light beams at objects or catching molecules. The team used volumetric capture technology to render characters with photorealistic accuracy.

A second experience uses large-scale projections on four walls and the floor to explore how the brain coordinates movement—showing neurons, blood vessels, and bodies in motion. Denys Lavigne, president and executive creative director of OASIS, said the team is developing future chapters, including experiences showing what happens in an athlete's body during Olympic competition.