The work we were asked to see was Augustin Vidal Saavedra: The Summer Palace. It is described as a ‘unique and uplifting experience’. It features a series of Renaissance paintings. The music was of the same aesthetic. This seems to be a theme with large scale immersive galleries. Reiterating established past art periods with added glossy epic music. (A similar case that comes to mind is the immersive gallery Frameless.) They seem to build on the spectacle element of the technology without questioning if the narrative benefits from it (if there even is a narrative).
There was one room that played some interesting works. I believe they were part of an MA showcase. These are the kind of aesthetic I would’ve personally been more inclined to, as well as the form of the experience. The themes seemed more actual and the aesthetic was fitted to the narrative and intention.
Mapping Antipodes was one of our favorite works (at least mine and Ben’s). Probably the most relevant to us as sound artists. The sound artist working on this was Nicholas Faris.
‘As sound waves move through the water from the center, it reaches the boundary, the energy of the wave is then reflected back on itself. As a process, sound, light and colour patterns emerge according to some external triggers of time and space, reconfigured through each entangled intra-action .
My project uses vibration, light, ferrous liquids, and generative digital visualisations to experiment with the representation of scientific and mathematical concepts associated with antipodes and nodes/antinodes.‘ (https://digitaldirection2023.co.uk/Mapping-Antipodes)
Ecotone is a 3-channel essay film made by Aggie Dolan. ‘A walk along the estuary, close to the ground. Salt marshes and steel beams; an ecotone is a meeting place of two communities, richness increasing as two things merge. Footage from the walk (along Thames) and binaural field recordings come together to voice a transgender perspective, visually displaying the relationship between moving image, walking, landscape and transness. Queer stories are so often told through cities, this project explores an alternative: a rural environment as a place of trans expression.‘ (from https://digitaldirection2023.co.uk/Ecotone-A-Walking-Essay)
(unfortunately other videos I have cannot be uploaded here a the file size is too large)
The main benefit of this visit was watching these videos with the other group members and reacting to them together. It was a good opportunity for us to gain a better understanding of each other’s likings and interests. It’s also a lot easier to point out the things you like when they are playing in front of you. It would’ve probably been even more helpful if there were VR experiences as well.