ARRAY INFINITIVE
Making VR experiences interactive for audiences
As part of an ongoing collaboration, our CTO Stuart Cupit has worked with artist and PhD researcher Leslie Deere on an innovative new artwork called Array Infinitive. Based upon combining a VR installation with real-time audio-visual performance, the experience positions the audience within a collective meditative style virtual world.
Want to explore the possibilities of new technologies? Get in touch to explore ideas.
MEDITATIVE SOUNDS THAT MOVE
Developed as part of Deere’s PhD research, with core themes exploring gestural audio-visuals, colour theory, the chakra system, altered states, sound installations and collective experience; the work references artists Hilma af Klint, James Turrell and Ann Veronica Jannsens. During the live experience, performative movements not only create reactive audio but generate VR visuals. Centred within a group, real-time human gestures from the performer control the sounds and particle trails, which are then replicated in a live virtual environment through animated ribbons of colour and painterly abstract geometric worlds.
HOW IT WAS HACKED
With Unity development led by Stuart Cupit, Chris Speed on VFX, and gesture interface by Ross Flight. The project links any number of VR headsets over WIFI on a local network for a synchronised shared experience. The performer’s movements are sent using Open Sound Control to MaxMSP and Ableton to alter the audio in response. Ambisonic speakers fill the performance space, creating a spatially immersive audio experience that can be felt.
THE SOUNDS
Recorded with several Glasgow-based musicians including Scott Morrison on Clarsach, Sarah Mcwhinney on Cello, Kyalo Searle-Mbullu on Processed Percussion and vocals from the Glasgow School of Art Choir – Ronan Breslin, Vocal Sound Engineer at LaChunky Studios, Finnieston Glasgow masterfully layered sounds that would match the atmosphere and movement within the VR space.
Take a look at a film produced by Mind The Film and Leslie Deere narrating the artist’s latest performance work (currently in beta version).
The Live Experiences
Recently, Array Infinitive was proudly part of The Science of Consciousness Conference, 30th Anniversary in Tucson Arizona. Guest speakers included philosopher David Chalmers, author Deepak Chopra, AI expert Susan Schneider, academic Tanya Luhrman, and actor Terrence Howard.
The experience previously debuted at Breaking Convention in April 2023, The Centre for Contemporary Art in Glasgow and a range of London conferences in Summer 2022.
We’re always looking to expand our network of creative collaborators, from technical specialists to people that work in more traditional art forms. LAUNCH exists to blend the barriers between creative practices and new tech. Get in touch to explore ideas.
