Australia Council arts project harnesses virtual worlds with brain power
04 July 2008
The Australia Council for the Arts today announced the recipients of its $30,000 collaborative massive multi-user virtual environment (MMUVE) arts project, MMUVE IT! – The organisation’s second virtual worlds arts initiative.
Sydney-based visual artist and writer Andrew Burrell, and Brisbane-based artist and science researcher Trish Adams will collaborate to develop an inter-disciplinary artwork exploring brainwave activity and body movement and its relationship to virtual environments in both Second Life, and the recently released Australian virtual platform, VastPark.
Burrell and Adams will develop a human/computer interface system that explores the artistic possibilities of neuroscience studies. The system will allow viewers to interact with artificial life created in virtual worlds through sensor readings of bodily functions including physical gestures, breath, heartbeat or electrical brain and nervous system activity.
The artists will work with the recipient of the 2007 Premier of Queensland Smart State Fellowship Award, Professor Mandyam Srinivasan, head of visual neuroscience at the Queensland Brain Institute of the University of Queensland - where Adams is currently artist in residence.
Australia Council inter-arts office director Andrew Donovan said that the number of high calibre applications made the decision process difficult. ‘Our previous Second Life project, Babelswarm really broke new ground for the Australia Council and Australian interdisciplinary arts in general – it set the bar very high for the next phase of our engagement with virtual worlds, MMUVE IT!’
‘Andrew and Trish’s project is sophisticated and thought provoking. It challenges the relationship of real and virtual worlds by engaging the body directly to virtual networks. We’re confident that the project will again ensure Australia’s place at the forefront of creative digital and social networking practices and we are excited to see the end results,’ Mr Donovan added.
Media contact: Victoria McClelland-Fletcher 0409 223 719 v.mcclelland@australiacouncil.gov.au