Voices of VR #1707: War Journalist Turns to Immersive Art to Shatter Our Numbness Through Feeling. “In 36,000 Ways” is a Revelatory Embodied Poem by Karim Ben Khelifa
Dec 7, 2025
Karim Ben-Khalifa, a former war correspondent turned immersive artist, discusses his journey from frontline reporting to creating impactful art. He shares insights about his installation 'In 36,000 Ways,' highlighting how shrapnel can evoke emotions about modern warfare. Karim delves into the power of sensory design in combatting public numbness to conflict. He emphasizes the need for innovation in storytelling and the use of technology to create collective, meaningful experiences that resonate with audiences.
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A Short Experience With Deep Bodily Impact
- Kent Bai describes In 36,000 Ways as a visceral, embodied three-minute experience that triggered his bodily memory and grief.
- The piece uses physical shrapnel, heartbeat playback, and haptic feedback to create a closed loop of feeling.
From Photojournalism To VR At MIT
- Karim shifted from frontline photojournalism to immersive work after experimenting at MIT with early Oculus hardware.
- That experiment led to The Enemy, a location-based multi-user VR piece which changed his practice.
Pick The Medium For Your Audience
- Choose medium based on target audience, not vice versa; pick where the intended people already are.
- Karim built Seven Grams as a smartphone AR app to reach Gen Z rather than forcing a new distribution channel.