—Da. Web-narrative laboratory 2025
The 2-week intensive workshop for students of –Digital art master program at Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia.
The course was prepared and led by Andrey Chugunov.
Participants:
Second-year master students of the –Da. Digital Art speciality.
Description:
The course consisted of 5 lectures, one reading session and 11 practical classes. There were 15 students on the course.

The lecture block touched on the evolution of media and how they have shaped the ways of storytelling. Students familiarised themselves with how narrative has occurred in literature, cinema, computer games, and art. The course included three guest lectures: poet and writer Egana Djabbarova told students about how narrative is constructed in literature and poetry; theatre director Anton Shefatov told how he works with the adaptation of the theatre play for performance; xenomedia artist Daria Ivans told how she works with the net and digital matter and aesthetics.

The central focus of the course was to create an interactive narrative based on a website. We took an in-depth look at how Net-art artists approach this task.
We have reviewed and analysed the works of such pillars of net art as Olia Lialina, JODI, Martine Neddam, Rafaël Rozendaal, etc. We also studied the phenomenon and aesthetics of Russian punk journalism of the 2010s.

During the practical sessions, we looked at how to work with step-by-step animations and scripts in Tilda, as well as exploring the node programming environment cables.gl, which allows you to create 2D and 3D scenes for web pages.
The students had several intermediate assignments:
1) to research the Geocities archive and select their 10 favourites
2) research interactive mechanics in the Rhizome.org portal archive
The final task assignment required students to tell a story from their lives by weaving interactive mechanics and web 1.0-inspired aesthetic research into the web-based narrative.
Web-narratives:
Short description of projects:

Denis Grishin – Superposition
"A layered visual essay about autism and the complexity of living in a fragmented reality. The story loops and rearranges itself, mimicking thought patterns that defy linear logic. Inspired by lo-fi surrealism and emotional dissociation."

Elena Borisova – Burn the body
"A critique of diet culture and self-punishment rituals. A minimalist interface counts calories per click, illustrating the obsession with control, bodily discipline, and invisible suffering."

Marina Trofimenko – Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
"A child and her mother try to reach shelter during a blizzard in Sakhalin. The viewer interacts by 'clearing snow' from the screen, revealing fragments of memory and dialogue. A tender narrative of danger, warmth, and survival."

Ilia Dotsenko – To my beloved cat Tilda
"A short tribute to the artist's pet cat. Simple animations and loving text create a soft space of memory and affection. A minimalist altar of everyday love."

Kseniia Kushnareva – About the taxist
"A surreal dialogue with a mysterious taxi driver who seems to know too much. The narrative unfolds in cryptic signs and dark humor, leading the viewer through reflections on fate, fear, and small talk gone wrong."

Marina Goncharova – CLUB FOR PEOPLE WITH SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
"A confessional collage of chaotic thoughts, ironic sketches, and digital noise. The site mimics the flow of a disturbed mind while offering small gestures of empathy. Both unsettling and intimate."

Ilia Chernavskikh – Moonsea
"A meditative project about solitude and music. The user listens to melancholic tracks while watching a moonlit seascape, triggering memory and reflection. A quiet, sonic ritual of inner observation."

Kirill Bubnovskii – Attempt
"A humorous yet sincere story about 15 failed driving exams. Each attempt is visualized as a short loop, capturing frustration and eventual triumph. A rhythm of trial and error, powered by self-irony."

Olia Voronova – Hide
"A darkly whimsical narrative about wearing emotional 'skins' to hide. Through strange and poetic visual elements, the site explores identity, misrecognition, and self-concealment."

Polina Abdulloeva – Through the phones
"A story about independence told through a failed train trip. Presented as a playful phone interface, the viewer's choices don’t change the outcome — highlighting the illusion of control in early adulthood."

Elena Kozlova – Migration
"An autobiographical journey from Tashkent to Vladivostok through three emotional phases: loss, liminality, and adaptation. Interactive scenes reflect identity transformation and the psychological weight of moving."

Sofia Vinogradova – Cancer
"A nonlinear narrative confronting the reality of cancer through poetic fragments, search queries, and real stories. The viewer scrolls through statistics, memories, and quiet despair — and finds a glimmer of compassion in shared grief."

Oleg Khalantsev – Do your hands hurt?
"A tongue-in-cheek project about aging gamers and hand fatigue. Combining fighting game references, a click-intensive 'therapy' minigame, and a fake solution from Mail.ru, the site is both ironic and painfully real."

Kerel Iuchiuġaeva – Deep wave
"A metaphorical story about chasing a slipper into the sea and almost drowning. The narrative becomes an allegory about losing focus in pursuit of trivial things. Uses scroll-based animation and interactive sequences."

Nikita Matiushinets – I love dubstep
"A retrospective musical self-portrait built from fragments of tracks that defined the artist's life. Abstract yet personal, the site is a sound-driven reflection on how music shapes identity."

Alina Babich – Dagestan
"A documentary-style travel narrative through Dagestan told through visuals, text, and emotional cues. The project reclaims cultural identity by documenting personal impressions and everyday encounters."