Top 20 Finalist – PG/StabilityAI DiffuseTogether – “Playing for Time (Bright-Side Mix)”
Created using three of original Daniel Leighton paintings, archival 8mm and 16mm film footage, text prompt engineering, and a variety of other tools.
Daniel Leighton: Immersive Storytelling for Mental Health and Healing
Daniel Leighton is a pioneering artist who blends painting, XR, filmmaking, and animation to create deeply personal and emotionally resonant experiences. His work explores themes of trauma, resilience, and healing, making it particularly powerful for mental health applications.
As someone who has lived with chronic illness since childhood, Daniel has developed a unique ability to translate complex emotional and physical experiences into immersive visual narratives. His work has been exhibited at major institutions and has been used to help audiences connect with and process their own emotions through interactive storytelling.
Daniel’s work has been recognized by leading art institutions, including:
- The Getty Museum (LA)
- Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA)
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
- Victoria and Albert Museum (London)
- LA Center for Digital Art (LACDA)
- San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA)
Daniel has also presented at Technarte and other international forums for digital and interactive art.
Shana Nys Dambrot, art critic, describes Daniel’s AR work as “[turning] your device into a viewing portal into what it is tempting to describe as a parallel universe.”
Examples of Daniel’s Work
Animation Samples set to “I/O (Bright Side Mix)” by Peter Gabriel
Augmented Reality & Interactive Art Demo – Daniel Leighton Art + AR App (featured in major art institutions)
Leighton Space Virtual Art Gallery Demo
“Tied Up At The Hospital” Painting With Augmented Reality
These two short films are embedded in the AR experience of my painting “Tied Up At The Hospital,” which depicts a traumatic event from when I was five years old. The first film delves into the experience of trauma, while the second portrays the process of trying to reconnect after dissociation.
Paintings
