Heads up for London Film Festival 2023’s immersive art programme
From VR fungi to AR walks, London Film Festival 2023 announces LFF Expanded, a compelling programme of immersive art and extended realities
The British Film Institute (BFI) has announced the line-up for LFF Expanded (6 – 22 October), its programme of immersive art and extended realities, set to run alongside the London Film Festival 2023.
The programme – which will take place across locations including Europe's largest digital exhibition space, Outernet, as well as Bargehouse, Gallery at Oxo, and Science Gallery London – spans virtual reality adventures as well as real-life experiences.
Bjarne Melgaard, My Trip. Artist Melgaard collaborated with Acute Art to bring together a multi-screen psychedelic installation that explores our daily subjection to a never-ending flow of digital information. Premieres 9 October, 9 – 11.30pm at Outernet, and can be seen every Monday from 16 October - 27 November
LFF Expanded brings together 14 projects and short films from around the world, including internationally acclaimed artists Bjarne Melgaard, showcasing the fully immersive My Trip, and Shirin Neshat premiering her two-part exhibition, The Fury, inspired by female political imprisonment.
Pierre-Alain Giraud and Stéphane Foenkinos present the UK premiere of Colored, a true story about Claudette Colvin fighting segregation laws in 1950s America, while viewers can glimpse intriguing secrets of the natural world from acclaimed director Winslow Porter with Forager.
Pierre-Alain Giraud, Stéphane Foenkinos, and Tania de Montaigne, Colored. This augmented reality installation is based on de Montaigne’s biographical essay and tells the true story of 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, who fought segregation laws in 1950s America. At Bargehouse 6 – 22 October
Other artists include Darren Emerson, Alex Topaller, Daniel Shapiro, Artem Ivanenko, Karen Palmer, Elie Zananiri, Steye Hallema, Adriaan Lokman, CyberRäuber, Guy Maddin, Amy Rose, Åsa Cederqvist, Lundahl & Setil, Untold Garden, Pastelae, Oscar Häggström, SONG, Murthovic and Thiruda.
This year, there will also be two free augmented reality walks, one along the Thames and another through Trafalgar Square.
Winslow Porter and Elie Zananiri, Forager. In this eight-minute VR experience, Porter and Zananiri reveal the fascinating world of fungi in a visually powerful display. At Bargehouse, 6 – 22 October
Shirin Neshat, The Fury. Iranian artist Neshat covers the turmoil of female political imprisonment in the 22-minute video and 360 VR film The Fury. At Bargehouse, 6 – 22 October
Said BFI London Film Festival’s XR and Immersive Programme Lead, Ulrich Schrauth: ‘This year’s LFF Expanded programme is a selection of high-profile artists and filmmakers, who are using the most innovative digital technology to invent new ways of storytelling. Their exciting and playful experiences encourage us to find a new relationship with our new (hybrid) reality.’
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Alex Topaller, Daniel Shapiro, Artem Ivanenko, Murals. This immersive visual experience, on its UK premiere, uses cutting-edge 3D scanning technology to place viewers face to face with the war devastation in Ukraine, capturing Banksy’s artwork left on the rubble of buildings and infrastructure. At Bargehouse, 6 – 22 October (closed 16 October)
LFF Expanded runs from 6 – 22 October 2023. The LLF will show over 200 features from 4 – 15 October 2023.
To see the full line-up visit whatsonbfi.org.uk
Tianna Williams is Wallpaper’s staff writer. When she isn’t writing extensively across varying content pillars, ranging from design and architecture to travel and art, she also helps put together the daily newsletter. She enjoys speaking to emerging artists, designers and architects, writing about gorgeously designed houses and restaurants, and day-dreaming about her next travel destination.
-
Robert Stone’s new desert house provokes with a radical take on site-specific architectureA new desert house in Palm Springs, ‘Dreamer / Lil’ Dreamer’, perfectly exemplifies its architect’s sensibility and unconventional, conceptual approach
-
Backstage at the Old Vic is all about light, theatre and sustainable actionThe theatre's new creative hub by Haworth Tompkins has completed, bringing a distinctly contemporary and colourful addition to the popular theatre space in South London
-
New Marseille restaurant Dévo dishes up a sultry 1970s moodMirrors, satin curtains, and tubular steel define the atmosphere of this theatrical hangout, as envisioned by a local team of creatives
-
A former leprosarium with a traumatic past makes a haunting backdrop for Jaime Welsh's photographsIn 'Convalescent,' an exhibition at Ginny on Frederick in London, Jaime Welsh is drawn to the shores of Lake Geneva and the troubled history of Villa Karma
-
Maggi Hambling at 80: what next?To mark a significant year, artist Maggi Hambling is unveiling both a joint London exhibition with friend Sarah Lucas and a new Rizzoli monograph. We visit her in the studio
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThis week, the Wallpaper* editors curated a diverse mix of experiences, from meeting diamond entrepreneurs and exploring perfume exhibitions to indulging in the the spectacle of a Middle Eastern Christmas
-
Artist Shaqúelle Whyte is a master of storytelling at Pippy Houldsworth GalleryIn his London exhibition ‘Winter Remembers April’, rising artist Whyte offers a glimpse into his interior world
-
Diane Arbus at David Zwirner is an intimate and poignant tribute to her portraitureIn 'Diane Arbus: Sanctum Sanctorum,' 45 works place Arbus' subjects in their private spaces. Hannah Silver visits the London exhibit.
-
Zofia Rydet's 20-year task of photographing every household in Poland goes on show in LondonZofia Rydet took 20,000 images over 20 years for the mammoth sociological project
-
Joy Gregory subverts beauty standards with her new exhibition at Whitechapel GalleryUnrealistic beauty standards hide ugly realities in 'Joy Gregory: Catching Flies with Honey '
-
Bengi Ünsal steers London's ICA into an excitingly eclectic directionAs director of London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, Bengi Ünsal is leading the cultural space into a more ambitious, eclectic and interdisciplinary space