Wonderspaces
Wonderspaces7960 Civita Blvd, San Diego
Through August 27th
For more information: wonderspaces.com
Article by Cathy Breslaw
Wonderspaces founders Patrick Charles and Jason Shin describe their exciting new visual arts venture as a pop-up museum of extraordinary experiences. Their journey began a year ago as these former Marines, who met while serving our country discussed their mutual dream of creating short-term entertainment venues that would be awe-inspiring immersive experiences. Their dream materialized at the launch of their pop-up event in San Diego which will continue through July 30th. Charles and Shin found land in San Diego and leased a 20,000 square foot tent to house room-sized interactive art installations, virtual reality films including art, design, food and beverages enjoyed at the world’s biggest festivals and fairs. After its San Diego debut, Wonderspaces will take to the road to Austin, Phoenix, Denver and back to San Diego in 2018.
The interior of the immense tent has been custom constructed and shaped to the needs of the 17 artists included in this exhibition. Participating artists from around the globe include some whose works have been previously enjoyed at Burning Man, Sundance Film Festival, and SXSW. The works are as diverse as Not Myself Today ®, from Partners for Mental Health, a Canadian charity that’s catalyzing a social movement to transform the way we think about, act towards and support mental health to 16 foot Pulse Portal created by artist Davis McCarty, made from futuristic dichroic acrylic which, like a dragonfly’s wings, simultaneously transmits multiple colors. This arch welcomed visitors to Burning Man in 2016. On a Human Scale by Matthew Matthew realizes the artist’s an ongoing mission to create fully playable instruments of humanity. This global collaborative experiment began by filming a vast cross section of everyday New Yorkers singing. Their individual notes are woven into a fully interactive video installation that the public is invited to play, using a piano.
Daydream v2, a collaboration between the illustrator Noemi Schipfer and architect musician Takami Nakamoto is an audiovisual installation that generates space distortions and plays with the relationship between space and time, accelerations, contractions, shifts, and metamorphosis. It has been shown in festivals around the world including Insanitus Festival, Stereolux, Biela Noc Slovakia, Lumina Festival, Lux Festival, Licht Festival, POP Austin, and the Istanbul Light Festival. Transition by Joost Jordan and Mike Von Rotz is a virtual reality experience based on the music of Kettel & Secede. Transition takes you on a journey from one world to the next. This film was featured in the Kaleidoscope VR Film Festival. Local artist Adam Bell’s works self-described as reliquaries, present in the entrance, contain ‘pieces’ of light. Sunlight is translated into two different light phenomena in the reliquaries using batteries charged by solar panels. In the first, Cloudbreak, a light shines through condensation changing daily depending on temperature and air pressure. The second, Light Rays, contains individual rays of light.
These and more fascinating and intriguing works and films are waiting to be experienced at Wonderspaces.
Tickets are available at www.Wonderspaces.com
Vanguard Culture is the proud nonprofit partner for this event. All proceeds from the bar from June 13-18 will go toward programs that inspire creative collaboration between professionals in the visual, performing and culinary arts.
