Augmented reality bubbles

2023: Watercolour painting, Adobe Dimension, Adobe Aero.

Last year (2022) I had this weird experience at the Auckland Art Gallery's Frida Kahlo exhibition. The gallery was packed with people moving from artwork to artwork, taking photos of each piece, then moving to the next.

Nearly every single person was viewing the exhibition through their phones.

Our devices are gateways to the digital realm, an alternative reality made up of enhanced, combined, reworked, filtered images. We cradle our phones in the palm of our hands, giving a tenderness to the images we view through rectangle reflective screens.

A digital image needs a device to be seen. The physicality of our devices, the million smudged fingerprints we look through, and the brightness of additive colour all contribute to the materiality of a digital image.

This series of three works are designed to be experienced through our phones (you’re welcome Frida Kahlo visitors!). My hope is they cross the boundary between our physical and digital worlds, and offer the opportunity to question whether we can believe what we see - as well as providing magic and wonder.

The beauty of Augmented Reality experiences is that you can walk around, under and even through the images. You can stand inside these spheres for a completely immersive experience. It’s like this mystical ghostly presence where the objects are just an illusion.

And so, I will leave you to ponder these profound words from Freddie Mercury ...

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?