“The Portal’s Keeper,” by artist LaJuné McMillian is a mesmerizing 52-channel installation that depicts the artist’s avatars diving into an alternate reality through movement and mediation. Created using 3D modeling software and Unreal Engine, the artwork begins with a jewel-toned portal unfurling into an enveloping world of clouds, fractals, and water. Two embodiments of McMillian’s avatar manifest within the nebulous transmutation, gazing directly out to passersby. Their spirit avatar twists among cables in the A/C mezzanine screens, while their personal avatar materializes floating in the universe unburdened by the laws of gravity. McMillian utilized motion capture software to record their own improvisational, cathartic movement for the digital art piece while asking “How would you move through the world if no limitations were placed on you?”

As a young commuter, McMillian encountered “The Commuter’s Lament/A Close Shave,” an artwork by Norman B Colp, installed in the corridor from 42 St-Port Authority Bus Terminal to Times Square station. This poetic, text-based piece commissioned by MTA Arts & Design in 1991 made a lasting impression on McMillian, driving their desire to create work for the public realm and in particular for the chance encounter of riders rushing through the space.

“The Portal’s Keeper” offers riders a place to contemplate the possibilities of the body. The gentle moves of McMillian’s young avatar in the fractal space capture a beauty and freedom to be cherished. The digital artwork is part of a larger body of work by McMillian including performances and extended reality installations exploring themes of embodiment, inner child healing, spirituality, and liberation.

“The Portal’s Keeper” plays for two minutes at the top of every hour. The work is presented with technical support from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and ANC Sports.

LaJuné McMillian is a multidisciplinary artist and educator creating art that integrates performance, extended reality, and physical computing to question our contemporary forms of communication. They are passionate about discovering, learning, manifesting, and stewarding spaces for liberated Black Realities and the Black Imagination. McMillian has had the opportunity to show and speak about their work at National Sawdust, Tribeca Film Festival, Times Square, and Brooklyn Public Library. McMillian was previously the Director of Skating at Figure Skating in Harlem, where they integrated STEAM and Figure Skating to teach girls of color about movement and technology. They have continued their research on Blackness, movement, and technology during residencies and fellowships at Onassis ONX, The Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, Eyebeam, Pioneer Works, NYU ITP, Barbarian Group, and Barnard College.