Music, art, and gaming have converged at the Brisbane Powerhouse for the inaugural IRL Digital Festival which celebrates all the glory of digital culture: from the golden days of retro gaming, to futuristic virtual reality simulations and everything in between.
The festival kicked off on Friday night (8 May) with IRL After Dark, an opportunity to relax with a drink and experience the exhibits; whether you’re a gamer, a geek, closet nerd, cyberpunk, full-blown tech head or just someone with a passing interest, there’s something for everyone to get excited about.
The interactive fun starts straight away on the Powerhouse Plaza outside with a display called ‘Power-Up’, which combines animation and responsive technology, enabling passers-by to use their bodies to operate an animated projection of a working power station.
For the nostalgic and lovers of old-school games, the Turbine Platform in the foyer was the place to be with an exhibition called ‘Player One/Player Two’, which traces the evolution of video games. Walking through the displays which feature arcade classics like ‘Space Invaders’ and the more modern ‘Diablo’ on a '90s PC brought back some fond memories of a wasted youth, late nights and sore thumbs.
There’s also plenty of digital-inspired art on display to check out. LA gallery, iam8bit are celebrating at IRL with a tenth-anniversary collection of their work which pays tribute to icons of '80s gaming, as well as a complementary exhibition showcasing artistic predictions for the future of gaming.
The real attraction seems to be the pop-up virtual reality lounge which allowed punters to immerse themselves in rich, life-like simulations and realistic scenarios, such as landing a spaceship and battling enemies in a ‘Mech Warrior’-style war machine. There are worlds of enjoyment to behold at the IRL Digital Festival and the After Dark event was just a preliminary taster for what’s to come, which includes a highly-anticipated live musical collaboration between Tom Thum and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra: QSOCurrent.
IRL Digital Festival runs until 17 May at Brisbane Powerhouse.
