Virtual Takeovers in the Metaverse: Interrogating Power in Our Past and Future(s) with Multi-Layered Narratives

Mariah is an augmented reality (AR) mobile application that exposes power structures (e.g., capitalism, patriarchy, white supremacy) through storytelling and celebrates acts of resistance against them. People can use Mariah to "legally trespass" the metaverse as a form of protest. Mariah provides historical context to the user's physical surroundings by superimposing images and playing stories about people who have experienced, and resisted, injustice. We share two implementations of Mariah that raise questions about free speech and property rights in the metaverse: (1) a protest against museums accepting "dirty money" from the opioid epidemic; and (2) a commemoration of sites where people have resisted power structures. Mariah is a case study for how experimenting with a technology in non-sanctioned ways (i.e., "hacking") can expose ways that it might interact with, and potentially amplify, existing power structures.