There’s a new breed of excitement, often hidden behind a dense smothering of faux-cynicism, pulsing through the veins of the world’s creative industries right now. As virtual reality becomes less virtual and more reality it’s becoming increasingly apparent that artists, photographers, filmmakers, designers and architects are about to pounce. With endless possible applications and limitless creative potential, those who thrive on the extraction of oneself from the “real” world are ready to harness new technology and take their audience to places previously only accessible within the artist’s mind.
In reality, technological milestones are synonymous with painful teething issues and user platform inconsistency. Spurred by this infuriating actuality, I was curious to see what renowned portrait photographer Robin Mellor had in store with his immersive outdoor photography exhibition Another Space & Time, the first instalment of his new personal project 'Space Explorer'.
Comprising a GPS-reliant app, and funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign, Another Space & Time has the potential to be a predictably clunky techno-let down. But would a globally renowned photographer, whose work has been used by Adidas, MTV, Channel 4, Virgin, Wonderland, Esquire and Eurostar, really put his reputation on the line for the sake of space-age self-expression? Well, yes, but a candid chat with the photographer ahead of my app-mapped two hour stroll around Hackney uncovered an unexpected honesty that shaped the project. Not too proud to admit that he wandered into the Great American Desert without a real idea of how he would share the subsequent photographs with an audience, Mellor revealed that, despite being entirely intoxicated by the concept of virtual reality, he recognises the need for stepping stone projects, like his, to take us to a place where virtual reality is a viable communicative tool, and not a gimmick.
Having talked to Mellor for a good thirty minutes about the fresh challenges faced when exhibiting his photographs outdoors as billboard-sized vinyl prints applied to the sides of Hackney Council owned buildings, I grabbed my phone (with the Space Explorer app already downloaded), my headphones and headed for the beginning of the trail.
Lasting around two hours and taking you on a tour of Hackney perfectly suited to enticingly mild summer evenings, Another Space & Time uses the newly developed Space Explorer app to guide its audience through a 15 photograph series of the Great American Desert that, when it recognises that you are within range of an image, cues the app to play a soundscape that is bespoke to that photograph. Recorded in the same moments as the images were taken, the soundscapes capture the atmospheric soundtrack of life in the desert while using the voices of its inhabitants to narrate its relevance and profound impact on their existences.
Walking the route, crossing roads and taking ten paces back at every image to appreciate its scale, I felt a plethora of contrasting elements challenging my interpretations of isolation and solitude. Aside from an almost shameful realisation of my personal privilege when hearing about the often troubled lives of Mellor’s subjects, I was experiencing a sense of enlightened detachment from my own vanity upon inserting my headphones to listen to the next soundscape.
Having discussed the differences between audiences in galleries and those exposed to public art installations with Mellor, it dawned on me that without the security of knowing that everyone around you is there to simultaneously cast the same voyeuristic judgement on something, a wave of self-consciousness floods over you as you pause in the middle of the street to stare at a seemingly random mural while listening to a soundtrack that only you can hear. However, by the time you reach Broadway Market, nearly half way through the trail, the instant gratification of blocking out streams of passers-by with the voices of people living thousands of miles away becomes rather addictive and triggers a liberating appreciation for public solitude.
Taking participants on a quietly fascinating stroll along the creatively adorned bank of Regent’s Canal, Another Space & Timeends in the unexpectedly gated grounds of a large residential and commercial development in Haggerston. Most notably, unlike exhibitions at galleries and museums, there is no exiting via the gift shop, nobody frantically gathering used and abused audio guides and no upcoming exhibition advertisements. This break in tradition provides an abnormally serene moment of contemplation before you reach your next destination, leading me to believe that perhaps the most poignant moments of our experiences of art are lost in controlled settings. Perhaps technology will prove itself as an unexpected ally in reclaiming the indulgence of isolation.