Mirror Pavilion by John Gerrard is a response to the escalating climate crisis and fearlessly pushes the boundaries of digital art using simulation. Gerrard has taken digital technology, usually employed by the commercial gaming industry, to create virtual worlds that simulate extremely detailed and authentic landscapes. The characters and landscapes we see on the LED screen may look like video or film but they are not; they hover in what the artist describes as the ‘slippery space’ between the real and the unreal. These two astonishingly real virtual worlds are meticulously constructed by digital means by the artist, a team of modellers, and programmers. This world unveiling will be a dazzling moment on the Irish landscape.

Galway International Arts Festival would like to acknowledge the support of Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture for funding this project in partnership with Galway city and county local authorities, and for the additional support provided by Festival Energy Partner Flogas, and the support of Aerogen and Blue Sky Ireland.

As the viewer approaches the Mirror Pavilion structure, they will see themselves reflected in the mirrored walls, and on the LED screen they will see an image of the landscape in which the structure is situated.

Using a technique described as motion matching John Gerrard generated an ongoing infinite choreography for the characters we see on the screen. Real-life dancers, wearing motion capture suits, walked, danced and performed. This series of motions was then captured and converted into data.

What we ultimately see are the Corn Work characters responding to time while the Leaf Work character responds to the solar cycle and changing temperatures, their movements in tandem with the changes of the seasons. There are two virtual worlds to discover on the Mirror Pavilion LED screen, each at a different physical location.

Video: Introducing Mirror Pavilion by John Gerrard