3 min readImmersive virtual reality and film have turned a debut exhibition put on hold by the Covid-19 lockdown into a delightfully different digital version, available now via the HOME website. Last Place On Earth plunges viewers into experimental environments, creative concepts and a vivid exploration of a future world, reborn….
Future 20 are the artists behind it, originally commissioned by HOME as part of their training initiative for young artists aged 18-25. Although the Covid-19 lockdown provided new challenges, the collective have responded with innovation – using new online circumstances to deliver their work, in a thrilling way. Created with Studio Morison, Last Place On Earth can now throw off the size and scale limitations of a physical exhibition, as the digital platform allows sound, poetry, film and sculptural forms to come together in a unique immersive experience.
Not only is this intriguing, but exploring important issues too. Future 20 are determined to consider the possibilities of reconnecting with mother nature through their work, using the perspective of virtual reality. This evocative online creation will provide a space for people to think carefully about their identities, their connections to the world in which they live and their impact upon the planet, its future, and how that can be shaped.
It begins by plunging viewers into a future eco-catastrophe… and then asking what the world will look like if is reborn. Last Place On Earth even recreates First Street’s Tony Wilson Place and the HOME building, taking viewers through different realms that echo the five classical elements, each with its own message - Black Light (Light), Bleak Sea (Water), Surface Cloud (Air), Soft Stone (Earth) and Nexus Valley (Aether).
Last Place On Earth features ten artists, who began work on the project back in Sumer 2019, long before the start of the pandemic. Those featured are Khizar Ali, Evie Appleson, Elena Brearley, James Desser, Saf Elsenossi, Jahday Ford, Sally Hirst, Connor Milligan, Maisie Pritchard and Melissa Sorrell… all who became increasingly aware that the themes of their Last Place On Earth exhibition are all-the-more pertinent in these uncertain times. What is our impact on the planet and how can we alter it? Such big questions have been very much at the fore.
According to one of the artists involved, Maise Pritchard:
“The whole world is collectively experiencing impacts of climate change, we are in great turmoil as governments across the globe ignore the need for serious policies to fight this climate crisis. We are threatened by an increase in choking cities, overheating climates, flooded communities and extreme poverty. If we are not vigilant, we may cut ourselves off from the natural world. If we don’t act now, what will happen to our planet? Does our Last Place On Earth give insight to an uncertain future?
“COVID-19 has proven to be an example of how we can live and act in solidarity, it has proven the positive impacts of reducing carbon emissions and it has proven that if we put serious policies into place, we can too fight the climate crisis. With creativity, consideration and determination, we have built a new world.”
The process of moving from a physical exhibition to the digital realm was also guided by artist and Studio Morison founder Ivan Morison, who reflected:
“Last Place On Earth evolved around the central question within the collective: As artists and creatives of all types, how best do we communicate the urgent issues of our time - the environment emergency and the collapse of societal norms and civic responsibility - and through our work how do we bring about meaningful change?”
Viewers can venture into Last Place On Earth via the HOME website now. In addition, a series of online workshops with the artists will take place throughout August and September.
For more information, visit homemcr.org/LastPlaceOnEarth
