With the world trapped indoors due to the COVID-19 quarantine, a lot of physical art events are switching to the virtual hyperspace. Virtual Reality is becoming a medium through which anyone can take a virtual tour of art galleries across the world. You can also opt for virtual art museum tours.
Art aficionados would be glad to know that the Architectural Association has launched a virtual art gallery. One that you can access from your homes. The art exhibition is being called the ‘AA Earth Gallery’ and was created to commemorate the 50th year of Earth Day.
The earth day is an annual celebration held on 22nd April every year in support of environmental protection. With climate change and the imminent ecological crisis, this movement has never been more relevant.
Architectural Association and Space Popular
A multidisciplinary design company called Space Popular designed and created this virtual gallery for the Architectural Association (AA). Both founders of Space Popular are alumni from the Architectural Association in London. This had helped the gallery fit seamlessly into the aesthetics that have been the cornerstone of AA.
AA invited their students, alumni, staff, and prospective students to send in their proposals. The Architectural Association asked them to theme their entries around digital connectivity and solidarity in the face of the pandemic. AA also asked the artists to re imagine an Earth where the perceived boundaries have transformed.
These entries underwent several layers of curation. AA displayed the final 60 art pieces in the virtual reality gallery.
The Design
Space Popular did a spectacular job in designing the virtual reality gallery. Art enthusiasts from all over the world can access this virtual chat room made on Hubs by Mozilla. Visitors have to log in and select an avatar on arrival. Then they can take a 360 virtual tour around the gallery using a VR headset or a computer screen.
The artworks and models are displayed in a circular room like an amphitheater. The designers arranged them in layers partially overlapping each other. You can stroll around and select the one that catches your eye to enlarge and envelop the screen. The artists added a concept note to every artwork which makes it more interesting. It also gives an insight into what the artist was trying to convey.
This chat room can accommodate up to 24 avatars at once. The program also lets the visitors interact with each other using a chat box.
Theme and Content
The artists conceived most of these artworks in the doldrums of a global lockdown. Unsurprisingly the emotions of confinement reflect very prominently in the artworks.
A lot of artists among the participants have explored the transformation of the geographic map. For these visionaries the physical isolation has given away to a virtual connectivity. It has dissolved the walls and the physical distance that has separated us from one another.
Another recurrent theme is how this enforced quarantine is helping the earth heal itself. Artists compare the air pollution levels, weather patterns, and the toxicity in the ocean bodies through the visual medium. These artworks are evocative and beautiful. And they make you question your role in the ecology of this planet.
The tone of these brilliant artworks vary from artist to artist. They expose you to a range of emotions from hope, joy, despair, and anger. Each beautifully constructed and thoughtfully presented to you. All of the 60 artworks however tell their own story without apologies.
The art exhibition becomes a conscious effort to help you address the troubled times you are living in. It points towards the environmental crisis that the world is going through. The exhibition also questions the relationship you share with nature and the abuse that humanity has put it through.
Notable Artworks
Among the more striking artworks are
- David Kohn’s ‘Crochet triptych’
- ‘Ends of the earth’ by Sheaufei Hoe
- Sam Jacob’s ‘House that is the Whole World’
- No earth, no ocean, no cities, but boundless Sky by John Ng.
- The untitled artwork by Antoniadi Liza
This could well be the catalyst for mainstream art galleries to create VR content, and make the experience accessible to a much larger audience than their patrons and walk-in visitors. There is no sure answer to how long this social isolation might last. But thanks to the VR technologies the world can stay connected through empathy and art.
