QM brings unique experience to the public with VR film 'X-Ray Fashion'
A one-of-a-kind experience awaits residents and citizens of Qatar at Qatar Museum’s Gallery (QM) Al Riwaq, which today opened a show featuring a virtual reality film titled ‘X-Ray Fashion’.
The film shines a spotlight on ‘the other side’ of the $2.5 trillion fashion industry, dubbed as the world’s second largest polluter, according to Gulf Times.
It is created by the Danish VR production house MANND and co-produced by the World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate program and the late Paul G Allen’s Vulcan Productions with the support of Alcantara, a certified carbon neutral company.
The X-Ray Fashion VR film, which premiered during the 2018 Venice Film Festival in the Virtual Reality section, has come to Doha as part of Qatar Museum's (QM) extensive 2019 program. The installation will be on show at Al Riwaq from April 1, 2019, through 21 April 2019. #QNA pic.twitter.com/R0sTbgwpl4
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Francesco Carrozzini, Italian-born director and fashion photographer, has directed the film which offers a cinematic VR experience built around a 49-square metre physical installation that guides the viewer through the different stages of the fast fashion garment production; from cotton farm to sweatshop, and from catwalk to consumer purchase to the afterlife of the garment, reported The Peninsula.
The film premiered at the 2018 Venice Film Festival (VR section) and is being shown in the Middle East for the first time under QM’s extensive 2019 program.
“The immersive show is an extraordinary undertaking and I hope many people in Qatar take advantage of this opportunity to see art and technology intertwine in a remarkable manner to make such an impact,” QM’s Director of Exhibitions Sheikha Reem Al Thani said.
The VR film is a powerful statement that transports viewers to a new reality, transforming perceptions and educating visitors on important issues in the world of fashion, she added.
Visitors will have the opportunity to experience a 360-degree live-action footage that imparts a stunning and photo-realistic atmosphere. The transitions between the scenes consist of a CGI environment that allows the viewer to walk between the seven different scenes, according to Qatar Tribune.
“From a sweatshop, it continues to a big mall and move into a time lapse so you see how overconsumption just becomes faster and faster,” MANND co-founder Signe Ungermand told reporters.
“Then we take you to a landfill, and show the afterlife of clothes that 60% of what people buy is within one year thrown away or given elsewhere,” she added.
From Italy, the exhibition toured around the US in Las Vegas, Seattle and Los Angeles, and just came from the United Nations Environmental Conference in Kenya before reaching Qatar, the first destination in the region.
This cinematic experience is a pioneering VR piece that tests the implementation of physical and sensory effects through settings that incorporate heat, wind, scent and shifting terrain.
By adding multidimensional sensorial effects, the filmmakers seek to draw the participant into an immersive physical experience that enriches storytelling in a new way.
“VR is a strong and powerful empathy machine to work with, in conveying a message where audiences can take the story to heart. By creating a sensorial VR installation, we not only show, but also make our audiences feel the consequences on their own body”, Engermann noted.
The film will be shown at QM’s Gallery Al Riwaq until April 21.
Do you have plans to head out to this very unique show? Let us know in the comments below!
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