Have you ever looked at a painting and pondered what it would have been like to have actually been there? To feel the breeze, smell the aromas, hear the sounds. Thanks to the marvel of augmented reality, an iPhone and some pretty clever IT technicians you can do just that at the Treasure Ships exhibition currently on at the Art Gallery of WA.
Cornelis Pietersz de MOOY
Peasants Skirmishing on a Jetty, with a Man-of-War Firing a Salute Offshore, 1689 oil on panel 110.0 x 113.0 x 7.0 cm Kerry Stokes Collection Perth
About half way round the Treasure Ships exhibition I stopped to look at an innocuous looking painting of a tall ship, seagulls following it’s wake. Then the man next to me raised his iPhone and pointed it towards the painting.
Within moments the image in the iPhone started moving. The ship started rocking, the birds flapping, the crowd angrily waving their sticks. Brilliant, even for someone like me who gets seasick in the bath.
Treasure Ships © The Ponder Room
Further on he held his phone up to an Indonesia marionette which sprang to life dancing a jig.
Indonesia Churlish courtier rod puppet (wayang klitik) 1931 Central Java, wood, leather, pigment, gold leaf, horn 53.0cm (high including handle) d’Auvergne Boxall Bequest Fund 2013 Art Gallery of South Australia Adelaide
For anyone into technology or art this is a must see. It left me in awe, pondering …
- What other gallery objects could come to life in the future?
- Maybe those Ben Stiller Museum movies are closer than we think.
The Treasure Ships exhibition ends January 31. Please make sure you see it. For more information go to Treasure Ships
