Enter Through the Headset 2: Gibson & Martelli, Jocelyn Anquetil, Matteo Zamagni, Iain Nicholls, Rebecca Allen

Artists Gibson & Martelli, Jocelyn Anquetil, Matteo Zamagni, Iain Nicholls and Rebecca Allen explore themes relating to the natural environment while simultaneously connecting the digital and virtual worlds to our physical space. Each of the artists has previously exhibited in our pioneering Digital Art House gazell.io with the exception of Rebecca Allen who’s residency will run parallel to the exhibition this September.

Virtual Reality as an art form is currently at the forefront of public interest and it’s focus lies in highlighting the blurred boundaries between real, virtual and augmented experiences.

“The intention of this show is to continue exploring non-traditional mediums in art, helping artists work within this field by creating a sustainable exposure and nurturing the cross-over between technology and art – a growing area of interest for the gallery over the past two years,” says Mila Askarova, Founding Director of Gazelli Art House.

Matteo Zamagni’s dynamic film Nature Abstraction recently appeared in New York on Times Square’s electronic billboards and this September Matteo Zamagni once again challenges human perception, meeting the listener or beholder in a reimagined, reactive reality with his new digitally composed work.

Gibson/Martelli’s MAN A VR explores the relationship between figure and landscape, pulling the viewer into the virtual reality space where a cocktail of movement can be explored and experienced. Add this to the forming and re-forming of camouflage shapes and patters and you are left fully immersed in this exciting exploration of the VR realm. Their White Island work (2014) draws on the polar expedition carried out by S. A. Andrée in 1897, whereby three of his crew members perished following a balloon crash on the ice near Kvitøya (White Island). The final campsite of the adventurers was only found in 1930 but thanks to Gibson/Martelli’s computer generated world we are able to focus our attention on this seemingly inexorable frozen land and the overwhelming nature of this expansive landscape. The viewer is left both in awe of the expedition and submerged in a similar vulnerability to those that lost their lives in the middle of the Arctic in 1897.

Following on from Jocelyn Anquetil’s PORTAL_00, PORTAL_01 is a more intricate and high-spec VR experience using 2D hand-drawn and digital animation as well as 2D video art within the virtual space. New 3D VR drawing methods have been used to create objects and characters within the experience and will once again be shown in a portable toilet.

Iain Nicholls leads the viewers through the landscape of The Old Coalmine at Hemingfield. Using photogrammetry of the real world Nicholls creates a fused dialogue between the real and virtual platforms. This fusion is a key focus for the artist who also manipulates light and sound to create this fully immersive experience. The instillation is narrated by the poet and broadcaster Ian McMillan and programming and character design was facilitated by Tom Szirtes from Mbryonic.

Rebecca Allen’s focus is centred on the human mind and its ability to push boundaries and explore external or parallel realities. A new work shown both in the gallery as part of toute seule group exhibition and Moving Image New York art fair will be available to view online from the 1st September. This cutting edge, interactive artwork will once again be available on VR headsets on the ground floor, with accompanying installations, projections and wall works creating an immersive environment in both the physical and digital space.