Immersive Spaces was an interactive exhibition held at St Gumbertus church in Ansbach, Germany. It was the outcome of a three-week collaborative project between students from UTS School of Design and from the Faculty of Media at Ansbach University of Applied Sciences. Under the direction of staff, students developed an installation that responded to the spatial properties of this historic building in three interdisciplinary and cross-cultural groups.
Students travelled between Sydney and Germany, using the Newington Armory in Sydney and St Gumbertus church in Ansbach – both heritage buildings – as inspiration for their work. They worked with new materials and processes across the domains of light, sound, projected image and objects.
The exhibition consisted of three immersive, time-based pieces installed in the ancient crypt, the first time this historic space was so investigated. Each group explored the idea of ‘eternity’s rhythm’ through sound and light as response to the special qualities here. Driftwood was reflective, working with light and organ music to evoke otherworldly-ness; Eurydice evoked human longing and loss through the use of a bright arch of light and the distorted reflections of visitors; and White Noise animated the space with projections, light and sound to disrupt ‘silent’ space.
Thus, viewers experienced the crypt in new and different ways. For the students, the project was focused on the challenges and rewards of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural collaborations. It delivered both theoretical knowledge and as well as experience in the meaning and application of immersive experiences in important heritage settings.
UTS teaching staff
Christopher Bowman, Mike Day
Ansbach University teaching staff
Cornelius Pöpel, Christian Schoen
Student collaborators
Driftwood Collective: Jan Kreusel, Jamie Lay (Ansbach University, audio), Tayla Jay, Orson Heidrich, Anaheed Sarian, Catherine Wratten (University of Technology Sydney, visual).
Mentor: Michael Kirschner
Live Room (Eurydice) Collective: Joana Ivanova Rousseva, Kathrin Sarah Reindl, Daniela Rieger (Ansbach University, audio), Karla Hayes, Daniel Mitchell , Bryce Noakes, Magdalena Wozniak (University of Technology Sydney, visual).
Mentor: Marcus Holzmayr
White Noise Collective: Marius Dabrowski , Christine Bedner, Hannes Böck (Ansbach University, audio), Talia Binkin, Daniel da Silva, Althea Rodricks, Melanie Weiss (University of Technology Sydney, visual).
Mentor: David Ferstl
