Imaging Futures Lab
Research Projects
Alison Bennett, ‘Blossom Spheres’ screenshot, 2020
Dr Alison Bennett
School of Art
Academic
Alison works at the intersection of expanded photography and webXR. It is an early example of photogrammetry to extend the photographic into webXR and an innovative use of the point cloud file format from photogrammetry. A technique for building 3D models from photographs, photogrammetry is poor at rendering the complex organic shape of plants. This solution resolved a technological barrier and offered a satisfying metaphorical experience of plants as celestial objects.
The work also reflects the context of the COVID pandemic. During extended lockdown in Melbourne, the work was created with branches of blossoms collected from street trees during lunchtime walks. The ephemeral springtime blossoming of the street trees were amplified by the constraints of lockdown. Conversely, the webXR platform allowed for international reach of this liminal sensation of shared isolation.
’Blossom Spheres’ was curated into FastLab Biomes Performance Experiment as part of Ars Electronica Kepler’s Garden exhibition by Dr Rewa Wright. .
’Blossom Spheres’
Banner image credit: Nirma Madhoo, OBSIDIAN XR, 2021