The realities of making VR!

THE development of virtual reality technology is often associated with the innovation of engineers and designers in California’s Silicon Valley.

But the small historic town of Linton in Golden Plains Shire’s north has a local resident on the cutting edge of VR.

Ben Joseph Andrews has had a fascination with cinema and its immersive and sensory potential, beyond storytelling, for decades. This interest sparked his journey into virtual reality.

“I directed a few short films in my early 20s but never felt entirely like I’d found my own language,” he said.

“This changed in 2016 when I started experimenting with VR alongside my long-time collaborator, Emma Roberts, and immediately felt like I was at home with this medium.

“Since then, I’ve been endlessly intrigued by the possibilities of interactive, non-linear and real-time new media.”

Highly experimental, Andrews’ initial VR works blended cinema, theatre, and live performances.

“This interest in playing with form and experience still runs heavily through our current work, as does a continual pursuit of how these technologies can be used to reawaken a sense of awe and wonder to the world that surrounds and permeates us.”

Two years ago, Andrews and Roberts created Gondwana, a world-first durational VR installation.

“It’s a fully explorable virtual ecosystem that explores the impact of climate change on the world’s oldest tropical rainforest, the Daintree in Far North Queensland,” he said.

“The virtual rainforest responds dynamically to the presence of the audience, meaning each time it runs it’s entirely unique and unrepeatable.

“We’ve been fortunate that our work has been screened extensively overseas. Gondwana premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and continues to tour as an immersive installation.

“We just wrapped up a three month exhibition at the South Australian Museum a couple of weeks ago.

“The piece won the Australian International Documentary Conference award for Best Immersive/Interactive and I was awarded Best Direction by the Australian Director’s Guild.”

In 2023, Andrews and Roberts completed their latest piece, Turbulence: Jamais Vu, which is a mixed reality piece.

“It explores a chronic condition that I have called vestibular migraine, which affects my sense of balance and orientation,” Andrews said.

“Turbulence: Jamais Vu uses a VR headset and an external camera to place you within a slippery, elastic version of your physical environment where everything familiar is suddenly made strange.

“It had its world premiere at IDFA, the world’s largest documentary festival, last year, where it won the prestigious DocLab Award for Best Immersive Non-Fiction, and we also won the DocLab Forum Award for Best Project there.

“IDFA has always been a champion of experimental, boundary-pushing new media so this recognition of our work was incredibly special.”

Living in Linton, a regional community near to the bush, inspires Andrews “every day.”

“Being closer to nature is essential to me, and acts as an antidote from working in such a high technological field,” he said.

“All the computers in the world can’t recreate the feeling of being underneath the stars in the night sky or amongst the sounds of the frogs after a heavy downpour.

“I feel very lucky to have this balance.

“We’re enormously proud to be regional creatives who work at the forefront of emerging technologies, and hopefully this sends the message that this kind of arts practice does not have to occur solely in large urban centres.”