Experiencing the End: User Experiences of Virtual Death in an Immersive Virtual Reality Installation

Abstract

Death is a fundamental aspect of the human condition, shaping how people understand life and existence. Virtual reality (VR) has increasingly been used for virtual engagements with mortality in controlled lab environments, but there remains a limited understanding of how to design and facilitate such experiences in public settings, such as art galleries, where designers must balance interpretive openness with accessibility, safety, and duty of care. This research presents a situated case study of Passing Electrical Storms, a VR art installation by Shaun Gladwell that simulates death and an out-of-body journey through the universe, and analyzes semi-structured interviews with 30 participants about their experiences with the installation. Using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, we examine participants’ experiences, perceptions, and interpretations to explore how the installation supported contemplative engagement with mortality through stillness, pacing, and multi-sensory grounding. Our findings highlight how meaning was co-constructed through bodily sensation, personal belief, and prior experience, and we propose design strategies for public mortality-themed VR that support interpretive engagement while maintaining legibility, emotional safety, and appropriate care in real-world deployment.