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Arkadia: A City Built from Memory, Mind, and Myth

Arkadia is a narrative-led multimedia project created by Hunter Deorum and produced through Deorum Studios. Exploring themes of memory, trauma, identity, and healing, the project blends visual storytelling, sound, and written narrative to reflect the psychological spaces people often retreat to during periods of emotional strain.

The concept began during Deorum’s undergraduate studies in Fine Art and Psychology at the University of Wolverhampton, evolving from a sketchbook idea into a wider creative world that blurs the boundaries between internal experience and imagined space.

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What Is Arkadia?

Arkadia presents the mind as a shifting, surreal city formed from fragments of memory, grief, and unspoken emotion. The narrative follows a symbolic character, also named Arkadia, who moves through environments that mirror psychological states endless corridors, reflective rivers, and ruins shaped by unfinished thoughts.

Developed through illustration, experimental writing, ambient sound design, and installation, Arkadia focuses less on linear storytelling and more on emotional atmosphere. Each environment acts as a metaphor for trauma, dissociation, and the complex, often non-linear process of healing.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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Psychological Frameworks and Influence

The emotional foundation of Arkadia is informed by psychological theory and lived experience. Dissociation is reflected in the way the character moves through the city, appearing in unfamiliar places without knowing how they arrived, constantly searching for something just out of reach. This sense of disorientation mirrors common trauma responses, particularly those associated with PTSD and complex emotional experiences. Freud’s concept of the uncanny also shapes the project’s environments. Spaces appear familiar yet subtly distorted, creating a feeling of unease and displacement. These altered landscapes reflect the cognitive dissonance that can occur when trauma reshapes an individual’s sense of safety and familiarity.

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