GEORGE TOWN, April 7 — The pairing of technology and art may bring to mind NFTs and AI-generated images, but it can also be used to span spaces for a single art exhibition to be at more than one place at the same time.
The clever use of augmented reality has enabled one such art exhibition to take place at two different states, in two galleries, to showcase the same pairs of artworks simultaneously.
Aptly based on the theme duality, the “Of Spaces in Between” art exhibition will be held in concert at Hin Bus Depot in Penang and ZHAN Art | Space in Petaling Jaya from April 8 onwards.
In line with the theme, each of the 24 participating artists produced a pair of artworks, with a physical piece to be displayed at one venue and another to be shown using augmented reality technology.
“The pairs of works are two different artworks but they will complement each other based on the theme duality,” said the exhibition curator Ivan Gabriel.
Coincidentally, the exhibition will also feature two pairs of artworks of tigers, collaborative works by two different couples, works by two pairs of siblings, two installation works and two pairs of two works by two artists.
The exhibition was initially planned for between February 2 and February 22, 2022, but was postponed due to pandemic restrictions at that time, said Ivan.
Other than paintings, sculptures and mixed media works will also feature in the exhibition, each pair complementing each other to convey a whole story.
While one part of each pair is physically featured in their respective galleries, the other part can be viewed through the PERK Reality augmented reality art app.
Sumidik’s work titled The Heritage Pill, to be exhibited in Penang, featured a heritage building in a pill above a For Sale sign while its pair, exhibited in Petaling Jaya, The Garbage Patch, is the same building exploding out of a carton box filled with water
The Garbage Patch may be viewed via AR in Penang while The Heritage Pill can be observed virtually in Petaling Jaya.
According to the artist’s rationale for the works, these were a tongue-in-cheek way of depicting the debate on the value of heritage buildings in contemporary society while contributing to the debate by highlighting the absurdity of treating old buildings as sacred objects.
Another work, by ERYN, featured only one art and instead of a code for its AR version, the artwork served as the code to be scanned using the PERK Reality app.
Its AR pair will appear underneath the physical artwork in perfect harmony when viewed through the app.
According to ERYN, the pair of artworks, titled Separating Longing from Regrets and Separating Regrets from Longing, is a representation of the physical distancing imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic and how she had kept in touch with her mother, who lived in France, through video calls.
The pair of artworks were created from a single piece of paper in a continuous line, with the absence of each piece shaping the other.
The other participating artists in the exhibition are Aboud Fares, Ajim Juxta, Bibichun, Christine Das, Esther Geh, Firdaus Baharudin, Haris Rashid, Hao Yuan Cheng, Kangblabla, Kimberley Boudeville & Silas Oo, Madhvee Deb, Maizul Affendy, Mandy Maung, Mawar, Mona KV, Rekha Menon, Sharon Kow, Sliz, Sumidik, Tiffany Choong and White Bones.
The “Of Spaces in Between” exhibition, supported by the Penang Art District, opens in Penang on April 8 and opens in ZHAN Art | Space on April 15.
The exhibition in Hin Bus Depot will close on the April 30 and in ZHAN Art | Space on May 15.
