In a Small Room: The Gap between Advertising and Reality focuses on two social issues, the first being the problem of poor living conditions in modern metropolitan areas, such as London and Seoul. The demand for housing in large cities, such as London, has greatly increased, but supply has not caught up with demand, a problem that has given rise to a cramped, prison-like residential environment.  

The second issue is the dazzling advertising designed to inspire in potential consumers the wish to buy a service. The advertising medium disguises poor living conditions by creating false images to bolster profits. I explore the gap between advertising and reality, producing work intended to have an impact in the real world.  

This project uses artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), films, a literature review, interviews, and experiments to study how existing images are transformed into visual advertising images. The work has four components: an interactive web application (CycleGAN), a VR installation, films, and a research paper. 

The following is a brief explanation of each project. The AI program begins with the question, ‘Can AI distinguish between advertisements and reality?’ With enough pictures, machine learning can determine some attributes. I designed an interactive platform into which people could place room images that were subsequently changed into attractive advertisement images using CycleGAN. A VR installation provides an immersive experience, demonstrating the contrast between reality and the deceptive advertising image created to attract people. As regards films, they show in detail the differences between advertisements and real-life housing. The research paper studies the housing crisis in metropolitan areas and presents an analysis of the interviews and research on the subject.

Computer scientist: ChanHee Cho 
VR technician: Halim Lais 
Advisor: Dylan Yamada-Rice, Shelly James, Kevin Walker, Oliver Smith  
Voice: Anas 
VR installation assistance: Quincy Cardinale, Peter Green, Joumana Ismail, Naomi Ashworth, Kenneth Lim, Moe Asari  
With thanks to the Royal College of Art and IED tutors. 
Special thanks to my father, DoHee Jeong, and mother, YongJa Kim, for all their support. Without their love, I could not have done it.

KyungJin Jeong (KR) is a designer, artist, and researcher with an interest in the social concerns people face in daily life. She believes that artists, designers, and researchers can reveal such concerns to the public through their work and offer feasible solutions to them. KyungJin earned a master’s degree with distinction in Information Experience Design from the Royal College of Art. She holds dual bachelor degrees in Media Interaction Design and Convergence Design from Ewha Womans University, Seoul.