Bringing Art to Life in VR and AR with Eoin
Eoin is a multidisciplinary artist based in Ireland who blends traditional photography, sculpture, VR, and AR, bridging the gap between the analog and digital realms.
His piece “Confined” was recently part of the Ghosting Collection 1 Auction after being on view in Berlin and London. Before the auction, we chatted with Eoin about his creative process and what he’s learned from bringing VR work to life in the real world through Illust’s AR technologies.Â
Tell us a little about the work you’re presenting with Ghosting, “Confined”
I always perceived the images that I painted on the walls as physical entities within the space, leaving a mark behind from my visit that felt natural in the setting. When I discovered the endless possibilities of digitally creating these pieces, particularly VR and AR capabilities earlier this year, everything changed for me. Within 5 minutes of putting on a VR headset, I had built and was walking around an object that I had in my mind for the past 10 years and thought would never exist. I started building these digital sculptures and rendering them into photos from the abandoned locations and bringing them to life – I have a select few pieces from these works that have been included into the collection for Ghosting.
Illust has been super helpful and accommodating in the process of getting me involved in the exhibition and trialing the platform and I am honoured to be alongside some great artists on display for Ghosting.
How has using AR helped you realize the vision you have for your art?Â
Using AR has allowed me to bring the sculptures out of my mind and the confines of a computer screen into viewing in real time at the locations I have imagined them existing for years. I truly can’t wait for AR glasses to reach the point of displaying these pieces in situ – that will be another mind-blowing moment for me.
Can you explain how the cities you create in might influence your work?
Traditionally my work has always been split between social and personal, the social pieces I would paint would be dependent on colour schemes and size of space etc and a large part of that was catching up with friends and working with other artists that I respect and admire. The personal work would much more directly be influenced by the setting, I would very much try and make the work fit naturally into the scene, such as using windows as light sources on the painting, having the work interact with objects in the end frame, adapting sizing to blend in more naturally etc.
How does blockchain technology support you as an artist?
To be honest, although it first came onto my radar and I got interested in crypto and the idea of blockchain technology in 2016/17, it has only really been in the past year that I have seen a way that I can be directly involved in the technology. I don’t claim to know or understand more than I do, I have very much worked mainly in the analogue realm for the past 10years, but these worlds crashed together dramatically for me earlier this year and there has been some of the most insane moments in my years of practice since that collision. One thing I would love to do at some stage though is collaborate with someone who understands the process of building the smart contracts – I think that you could build some truly incredible artworks blending these elements together.