BFI Expanded: Shifting Perspectives exhibition to launch in February

BFI Expanded presents Shifting Perspectives, a free exhibition of six works by female and non-binary creators working in immersive technology, taking place at BFI Southbank from 6-12 February 2023. Spotlighting works from all over the world, this exhibition celebrates the female and non-binary artists who are pushing the boundaries of both storytelling and the immersive tech sector as a whole, aiming to challenge the preconception that emerging technology is often perceived as a predominantly male domain. Shifting Perspectives is part of BFI Expanded, the BFI’s year-round programme strand dedicated to immersive art and extended realities (XR).

Presenting six works spanning different mediums including interactive virtual reality, immersive audio experience, screen-based installations and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), this exhibition highlights a rich selection of works from creators who are working at the forefront of emerging technologies. The projects presented utilise technology in powerful ways to raise important social and cultural issues, such as Bambou Kenneth’s Kindred, an interactive virtual reality experience that highlights the unique challenges faced by non-binary parents in the UK’s adoption process, and Minimum Mass by Raqi Syed and Areito Echevarria, which tells the story of a couple who experience a series of miscarriages and come to believe their children are being born in another dimension. Two deeply personal works from BAFTA-award winning director Victoria Mapplebeck – Testing Times and The Waiting Room – provide an intimate look at a family experience of the recent global pandemic and shine a light on Mapplebeck’s own experience of cancer from diagnosis to recovery, immersing users in a 360° reconstruction of her last session of radiotherapy.

Otherly is series of seven short documentaries by women, non-binary and genderqueer creators presenting stories on a variety of themes from family relationships to exploring LGBTQIA+ identities, and Head in the Clouds by London-based Icelandic artist Kristjana S. Williams highlights three NFT collections generated from Williams’ core artworks, layering imagery of exotic botanicals and vibrant animals to build fantastical, dream-like worlds.

Shifting Perspectives is co-curated by Ulrich Schrauth, the BFI’s Immersive Art and XR Curator with Liz Rosenthal (Venice Immersive) and Asha Easton (Immerse UK), and is presented in partnership with Women in Immersive Tech (WiIT).

LISTING INFORMATION:

Shifting Perspectives: A focus on female and non-binary creators in XR

BFI Southbank, 6-12 February 2023. Open daily 14:00-21:00 in the NFT2 Foyer & Atrium. Free entry.

Works included in the exhibition:

KINDRED

UK 2022. Director Bambou Kenneth. 10min

Selected in competition for the Venice International Film Festival 2022 and nominated for two awards at the Raindance Film Festival, Kindred is an animated virtual reality story that highlights the unique challenges faced by non-binary parents in the UK’s adoption process. Starring Ki Griffin, known for their portrayal of Ripley Lennox in Hollyoaks, the first non-binary character to appear in a British soap, Kindred tells the incredible true story of Syd, the brave non-binary parent who helped to redefine the meaning of family in the UK.

MINIMUM MASS

New Zealand-France-USA 2020. Directors Raqi Syed, Areito Echevarria. 20min

An interactive virtual reality experience that takes place in a photorealistic, computer-generated story world. Inspired by the directors’ own personal experience, Minimum Mass tells the story of a couple that experience a series of miscarriages and come to believe their children are being born in another dimension.

TESTING TIMES

UK 2021. Director Victoria Mapplebeck. 30min

Testing Times is an immersive audio experience by BAFTA award-winning director Victoria Mapplebeck that creates an unfiltered and unromanticised portrait of family life during the recent global pandemic. In 2021, Victoria Mapplebeck collaborated with her 18 year old son Jim to create a soundscape which captured their conflicting and contrasting experiences of lockdown life, created using more than 50 hours of phone calls and voicemails.

THE WAITING ROOM

UK 2019. Director Victoria Mapplebeck. 16min

When director Victoria Mapplebeck was diagnosed with breast cancer, she decided to create a film and a VR project which would explore each step of her journey from diagnosis to recovery. Centred around a 9-minute durational 360° reconstruction of Mapplebeck’s last session of radiotherapy, the user finds themselves plunged into an intimate and unexpected role of bystander. The Waiting Room premiered at the Venice Biennale in 2019 and won IDFA’s Digital Storytelling award.

OTHERLY

Various Directors, 7 Short Documentaries. USA, 2021, 5-13 mins.

Otherly is a series of seven creative documentaries on the theme of belonging and finding one’s place in the 21st century. Using universal themes like love, inclusion, and loss as entry points, the series amplifies perspectives from seven women, non-binary and genderqueer creators who have utilized techniques ranging from experimental to live action to animation. Co-produced by National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and POV Spark.

Titles:

Seeking Refuge in Our Cars by Miru Yogarajah. (5 min 52 s, Canada)

Elaine Is Almost by Em Yue. (13 min 3 s, US)

Love Is the First Sacred Lesson by Jess Murwin (6 min 50 s, Canada)

Integrate.Me by Tristan Angieri’s (9 min 31 s, US)

Papier Accordéon by Grace An’s (7 min 10 s, Canada)

A Portrait of Tracy by Joanne Lam (5 min 50 s, Canada)

FaceTime by Jackie! Zhou (6-10 mins, US)

HEAD IN THE CLOUDS

UK, 2022, Lead Artist, Kristjana S. Williams

Head in the Clouds is the first digital collectible (NFT) project by London-based Icelandic artist Kristjana S. Williams. The project features three NFT collections: unique editions generated from three core artworks, Heart of Nature, Contemplating Skeleton and Drifting Skeleton. Williams’ artworks draw inspiration from Victorian engravings and the natural world and involve layering imagery of exotic botanicals and vibrant animals to build fantastical, dream-like worlds. Produced by VIVE Arts.