Where Are You Feeling? Expressing and Mapping Emotions via Soul Paint

“Step into your body,” instructs a virtual Rosario Dawson in the heart of London’s business district. What could easily be dismissed as another VR gimmick is, in reality, a deeply cathartic and fully embodied experience—where the audience becomes the art and vice versa. By stepping into a digital body, the viewer is encouraged to ponder on ‘where’ they are feeling, a subtle shift from the usual, more mundane question of ‘how’ they are feeling. This linguistic playfulness encapsulates the ethos of Soul Paint: to not only redefine how we express emotions, but to also explore where those feelings come from.

Already an award-winning VR experience, Soul Paint invites participants to use 3D drawing as a tool for emotional expression. The result is an artwork that is both immediate and entirely present, whilst still remaining deeply personal, a direct representation of the creator’s emotions and inner thoughts. As conversations around mental health become increasingly open, situating this experience in London’s corporate heart transforms Soul Paint’s immersive space into a sanctuary for emotional reflection and dissection. By uniting art and technology, it signals an important shift—one in which these fields work symbiotically, not just to create art but to facilitate human creativity and emotional release. There is something poetic about mastering both Soul Paint’s technology and, in doing so, one’s own emotions. Yet, the undercurrent of Soul Paint runs far deeper than just self-expression. As a cultural commentary, it reflects a shift from art consumption and creation being something largely recreational,  and exemplifies its role as a vehicle for healing.

Image credit: https://www.soulpaint.co/

The process of Soul Paint is simple yet profound. Participants step into a circular, curtained booth and don a VR headset, immersing themselves completely in a digital world. Upon entering the virtual world, the participant’s body is scanned and recreated in front of them as they are guided through the process of visually mapping and expressing their emotions through virtual painting. After completing their creation, participants can view their work alongside those of others and listen to the personal meanings behind each piece. This open dialogue around emotion dismantles the barriers that often separate individuals—particularly in a digital age where true feelings are frequently masked behind screens. Soul Paint subverts this dynamic, using technology to reveal rather than conceal, fostering a space where digital connection becomes a positive tool for deeper emotional understanding rather than detachment.

Image credit: https://www.soulpaint.co/

Ultimately, Soul Paint emerges as a necessary and empowering tool for emotional expression in the digital age. As interconnectivity increases, so too does the distance between what we feel, where we feel it, and how we express such feelings. Soul Paint decentres the curated perfection so often projected in and through technology, instead embracing the nuances and often messy complexities of human emotion. It is a testament to Soul Paint’s innovation that technology, rather than serving as a barrier, can be harnessed to encourage honest emotional expression. Soul Paint, ultimately, produces a space where art, humanity, technology, and emotion converge into one body—a body which is free to feel.