\u201cIt’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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe virtual rainforest responds dynamically to the presence of the audience, meaning each time it runs it’s entirely unique and unrepeatable.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been fortunate that our work has been screened extensively overseas. Gondwana <\/em>premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and continues to tour as an immersive installation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just wrapped up a three month exhibition at the South Australian Museum a couple of weeks ago.<\/p>\n \u201cThe piece won the Australian International Documentary Conference award for Best Immersive\/Interactive and I was awarded Best Direction by the Australian Director’s Guild.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2023, Andrews and Roberts completed their latest piece, Turbulence: Jamais Vu<\/em>, which is a mixed reality piece.<\/p>\n \u201cIt explores a chronic condition that I have called vestibular migraine, which affects my sense of balance and orientation,\u201d Andrews said.<\/p>\n \u201cTurbulence: Jamais Vu<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt had its world premiere at IDFA, the world\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIDFA has always been a champion of experimental, boundary-pushing new media so this recognition of our work was incredibly special.\u201d<\/p>\n Living in Linton, a regional community near to the bush, inspires Andrews \u201cevery day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBeing closer to nature is essential to me, and acts as an antidote from working in such a high technological field,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel very lucky to have this balance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE development of virtual reality technology is often associated with the innovation of engineers and designers in California\u2019s Silicon Valley. But the small historic town of Linton in Golden Plains Shire\u2019s north has a local resident on the cutting edge of VR. Ben Joseph Andrews has had a fascination with cinema and its immersive and […]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2024\/04\/TurbulenceJamaisVu-I_98594.jpg\")