Royal Arch, and other lost monuments, brought back to life for NEoN
Published On Mon 6 Nov 2017 by Grant Hill
Artists from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design have used the latest technology to bring Dundee’s much-missed Royal Arch back to life for this year’s NEoN Digital Arts festival.
Dr Alice Watterson and Dr Kieran Baxter combined their archaeological and animation skills to recreate the Arch in digital form. The meticulously reconstructed models can be viewed on the site of the original Arch at Slessor Gardens by anyone who downloads the Zappar app on their mobile device and then scans the engravings in the paving slabs marking the original footprints of the Arch.
NEoN Digital Art Festival, with support from the National Lottery through
Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund, will showcase the work of artists working at the forefront of digital media. More than 25 exhibitions, events, performances, screenings and talks around the theme of Media Archaeology will be open to the public at spaces across Dundee from 7-12 November.
A number of NEoN’s projects use digital reconstruction techniques that present artists and archaeologists with engaging and dynamic methods for storytelling, visualisation and research. World expert in this area, Professor Sarah Kenderdine, will speak about this at the NEoN symposium on Friday 10 November, alongside Dr Watterson.
The magnificent Royal Arch was built to commemorate an 1844 visit to the city by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The Arch was demolished in 1964, as part of land reclamation work required for the construction of the Tay Road Bridge.
Drs Watterson and Baxter accessed images of the Arch from the archives of DC Thomson, the University of Dundee Archives, and Dundee City Council and used photogrammetry, LIDAR scanning and digital animation to produce the augmented reality installation, which will be available to view from Monday as part of NEoN.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to explore Dundee’s lost architecture through augmented reality,” said University of Dundee Research Fellow Dr Sarah Cook, co-curator of the NEoN programme.
“Alice Watterson is an archaeologist specialising in illustration and digital survey and she is currently exploring the use of digital reconstruction as an interpretive tool, focusing on blending digital data with creative practice to generate original interpretative content.
“Kieran Baxter is a creative practitioner specialising in web design, aerial photography and visualisation. Together, they have created digital assets that bring to life four moments in the history of the Arch, including its recreation in cardboard last summer!”
“In the NEoN exhibition we also have work by artist Moreshin Allahyari, who has created 3D printed objects based on reconstructions of 12 statues from the Roman period city of Hatra and Assyrian artefacts from Nineveh, destroyed by ISIS in 2015. Visitors can also try out a virtual-reality installation recreating a work by the late video artist David Hall, a pioneer in the field of media art, created by DJCAD alumna Rhoda Ellis and DJCAD media archivist Adam Lockhart.”
Other past and present Duncan of Jordanstone students and staff, are involved in this year’s city-wide NEoN festival, including:
- Doctoral researcher Alejandro Ball, who has co-curated with Generator Projects an ambitious online and offline exhibition featuring new installations and performances from four international artists.
- Dr Caroline Erolin, who created 3D scans and digital reconstructions of specimens from the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum as part of the centenary celebration of the publication of Thompson’s book ‘On Growth and Form’. Posters of these will be displayed at the waterfront, adjacent to the Royal Arch AR project and the 3D models can be downloaded from the University’s Museum website for you to print at home.
NEoN Festival features presentations of work by more than 50 international artists, all working with digital media to excavate hidden histories of technology and culture as part of the Scottish Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.
While archaeology has often understood cultures through excavations of hoards and coins,
NEoN proposes that artists are future media archaeologists, recorders of our current information-based society, and time-travellers highlighting the continued relevance of our long past.
The Festival programme will show how digital art and technology is understood now and will be in the future, in the creation of shared cultural experiences.
More information is available at www.northeastofnorth.com.
The ZAPPAR app is available for free from the App Store or Google Play Store.
Notes to editor:
For further information on NEoN festival please email Donna Holford-Lovell, Director
donna@northeastofnorth.com or call on 01382 322 852. Images available upon request.
NEoN (North East of North)
(NEoN) North East of North is an international digital arts festival featuring moving image, performance, music and technology driven arts. NEoN has previously organised exhibitions, workshops, talks, conferences, live performances and public discussions and established itself as a platform to showcase national and international digital art forms.
By bringing together emerging talent and well-established artists, NEoN aims to influence and reshape the genre. The team are committed to helping our fabulous city of Dundee, well known for its digital culture and innovation, to become better connected through experiencing great art, networking and celebrating what our corner of Scotland has to offer in the field of digital arts.
Creative Scotland
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. It enables people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. It distributes funding from the Scottish Government and The National Lottery.
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