Phi’s “Theatre of Virtuality” at the Venice Biennale
VR experiences that take participants through time, space and emotion
Venice is a reality apart. Every time you arrive in the city you’re catapulted into reflections on water and glass, too many tourists along small crowded streets, palazzos and alleys and gondolas. It’s a place where senses are constantly stimulated. It’s real, but somehow imaginary. Perhaps that’s the reason a virtual reality experience like Phi Immersive‘s The Theater of Virtuality at this year’s Venice Art Biennale becomes an even greater perceptive leap.
The second gallery focuses on VR cinema and showcases works produced by Felix & Paul Studios. Four 20-minute videos explore the future of entertainment and documentary using real footage rather than computer graphics. Both Space Explorers: Taking Flight and Space Explorers: A New Dawn are spectacular. The two videos are teasers for an upcoming series that will take the visitors to the International Space Station (ISS), where the producers have been placing cameras for more than two years.
The most touching and emotionally intense experience is Roger Ross Williams and Ayesha Nadarajah’s Traveling While Black which we saw at Sundance earlier this year. It takes place at Ben’s Chili Bowl, a Washington diner that was included in the Green Book—the annual guide for African American travelers that was published from 1936 to 1966. The viewer sits with travelers, some of them activists, and witnesses their stories. A deeply moving experience, it’s one not to miss.
The Theatre of Virtuality is on now through 28 October at Ca’ Rezzonico Gallery (next to the Ca’ Rezzonico Museum, Dorsoduro 2793 and 2793A, Venice). On 29 October, the Phi Centre in Montreal will open Cadavre Exquis, a new exhibit focused on exploring, once again, how VR and art can unite to help us imagine the future.
COOL HUNTING always gets permission to use the images we publish; however, as an independent publication, we cannot afford to continue fighting unfair claims of copyright infringement, so the images have been removed from this post.
