Tech delivers innovative virtual exhibition

Innovative 3D technology developed in Australia is delivering an authentic gallery experience for viewers of the 2021 ARTEXPRESS virtual exhibition.

In a collaborative effort between an Australian start-up and the NSW Department of Education, viewers are able to 'lift' artworks and sculptures to examine the techniques used and to walk between rooms to view artworks where they are hanging.

The 2021 ARTEXPRESS Virtual exhibition includes 54 bodies of work across the 12 expressive forms within the NSW Visual Arts HSC syllabus.

In 2021, there are 10 ARTEXPRESS exhibitions showcasing 270 outstanding bodies of work from the 2020 Higher School Certificate Visual Arts practical examination.

Each exhibited body of work was selected from 8617 artworks submitted for the practical Visual Arts examination in 2020.

ARTEXPRESS project officer Jenny Beachum said the artworks in the virtual exhibition had been captured using 3D imagery and high-resolution photography.

"The 3D digitising technology would allow users to look closely at the artworks from every perspective, manoeuvring it to magnify it, see inside it, to spin it around, and even to turn it upside down," she said.

Marker's commentary on each artwork and selected artist interviews also add a valuable dimension to the resource and exhibition of works.

The ARTEXPRESS Virtual exhibition would be accessible to every student, teacher and school, who had access to the internet, regardless of their location, making it a formidable learning and teaching tool for HSC students and teachers.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/olly