A mysterious universe of alien architecture, humanoid clones and cryptic symbols, Heide Museum of Modern Art presents the National Gallery of Australia exhibition Terminus – a collaboration between New York based visual artist Jess Johnson and Wellington, New Zealand based video maker and animator Simon Ward.
“This dynamic collaboration translates Jess Johnson’s drawings into animated virtual reality, enabling audiences to have the simulated experience of entering into the hypnotic realms she depicts,” said Lesley Harding, Heide Museum of Modern Art Artistic Director. “Heide is delighted to bring this experience to Melbourne for the first time.”
With their pioneering use of virtual reality, Johnson and Ward hold a unique position among contemporary art practitioners. Johnson’s drawings are transformed from analogue into digital, and from solo practice into cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Animated by Ward and enriched with input from developer Kenny Smith and sound composer Andrew Clarke, the result is Terminus: a mysterious universe of alien architecture populated by humanoid clones and cryptic symbols, explored via a network of travellators and gateways.
“With Terminus, Johnson and Ward have created a virtual reality work of astonishing, pioneering ambition,” said NGA’s Senior Curator of Contemporary Art Jaklyn Babington. “An experience of Terminus is akin to a cryptic choose-your-own adventure, a physical and mental navigation of a psychedelic aesthetic and philosophical framework.”
“In the commissioning and touring of Terminus, the National Gallery of Australia is dedicated to engaging contemporary artists working at the intersection of art and technology. Terminus is a thrilling extension of the national collection into the 21st century.”
Terminus presents the viewer with a quest into the technological, and through time and space, as they explore five distinct realms: passing through Fleshold Crossing; taking respite in Known Unknown; losing themselves within Scumm Engine; bravely facing impending danger in the tower of Gog & Magog; and experiencing the brink of sensory overload in the psychedelic scenes of Tumblewych. This journey of transformation ultimately reveals an understanding that reality is not fixed but both malleable and multiple.
“I had a formative experience with science fiction growing up, particularly in film,” says Simon Ward. “With the idea of the Terminus floor-map being an initial building block for the work, Jess and I quickly started talking about the repetitive quests, the archetypes and the monomyth that fill fantasy and sci-fi films.”
As an adjunct to Terminus, a number of Johnson’s drawings and collaborative textile works have been selected for display by Heide Curator Sue Cramer. These include quilts Johnson made with her mother Cynthia Johnson, and garments from Romance Was Born’s Summer 2016 collection, Mysteria Wysteria – a collaboration between the Australian fashion house and Jess Johnson.
The functionality of the garments, and handmade qualities of the drawings and quilts, will counterpoint the visitor’s encounter with virtual reality, and give a wider sense of Johnson and Ward’s collaborative processes, which involve both traditional and new media.
“My interests lie in world-building and the construction of new realities…” says Jess Johnson. “The images I create are holographic meshworks of grids, brickwork, architectural monuments, humanoid clones and Messianic figures.”
“My desire to give flesh to this world has driven my more current interests in animation and virtual reality (VR)… I think VR is the most effective conduit from one brain to another that’s ever existed. With VR, you can seduce someone into accepting an entirely new reality.”
“VR technology has just started to be adapted by artists and has the potential to explode into new genres and artforms… It will be artists who will harness the technology and use it in ways we can’t even imagine yet, opening up new genres in storytelling, communication, expression and exploration,” adds Johnson.
Terminus: Jess Johnson and Simon Ward
Heide Museum of Modern Art, 7 Templestowe Road, Bulleen
Exhibition continues to 1 March 2020
Entry fees apply
For more information, visit: www.heide.com.au for details.
Image: Jess Johnson and Simon Ward, Terminus 2017-18 (still), virtual reality experience in five parts: colour, sound. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra Commissioned with the assistance of The Balnaves Foundation 2017. Purchased 2018