I visited And/Or Gallery with the intent of seeing a VR installation by artist Brenna Murphy and her husband / collaborator, Birch. Usually when I visit a museum or gallery that has VR incorporated into an exhibition, I notice that the show is not entirely organized around the VR as this creates issues of sparsity within the space (i.e. there’s nothing to see while you wait for the headset), and this exhibition had this issue but it took me a while to realize it. To explain what I mean, I must describe the space: the square footage of the gallery was small — probably around 800 sq ft — and the main exhibition room had three printed silk scarfs hanging on each wall (dimensions around 6’x6′) with a large printed floormat on the ground. The prints on these objects were complex patterns not unlike psychedelic celtic knots and were all rendered with 3D software, which is the style of work that Brenna is known for. The VR headset hung from the ceiling above the center of the floormat, so a “box” of sorts was built around the headset with these flat items. I think this is where the install began to undermine itself — not only do the scarfs and floormat become unseeable after the headset is put on, but it also leaves the waiting visitors to view the scarfs in a space that is in the way of the person with the headset on. Due to the fact that they can’t see you, this creates an awkward viewing environment where one cannot step inside the gallery to view the patterns up close as there’s a blinded person walking around in the middle of the install.
That said, the VR installation was compelling enough to merit a visit, though the installation of all the work left a bit to be desired. I find that VR installations have a privileged position within the dispersion of gallery content on social media, inasmuch that only the install can be photographed and recycled across the web, whereas the experience within the headset cannot. This creates a rare instance where the viewer cannot fully preview what’s in the gallery before arrival, and the fact that VR has maintained this sense of in-person fidelity and surprise is pretty shocking in this day and age. In my opinion, VR installations are the most successful when they act only as a site of receiving the headset; there is not point to installing visual work around VR hardware as it will not be seen one the experience begins anyway, and because it obstructs the viewing process for other visitors as well.
