Opportunity to experience one of the UK’s most celebrated landmarks in glorious VR
Image: from Staffa and Fingal’s Cave VR
“it was one of the most extraordinary places I ever beheld. It exceeded, in my mind, every description
I had heard of it… composed entirely of basaltic pillars as high as the roof of a cathedral,
and running deep into the rock, eternally swept by a deep and swelling sea, and paved,
as it were, with ruddy marble, [it] baffles all description.”
Sir Walter Scott on Fingal’s Cave
The Isle of Staffa, known for its striking basalt formations and its most prominent feature, Fingal’s Cave, has been an inspiration for intense artistic and literary activity for nearly 250 years as well as being a focus for early romantic tourism. It remains one of Scotland’s major tourist destinations to this day.
Now through a collaboration between the School of Simulation and Visualisation at The Glasgow School of Art and the National Trust for Scotland in partnership with the Universities of Stirling and Glasgow the cave has been brought to life in sound and vision offering people the chance to experience this wondrous site as never before. Created over the last 3-years the VR response to the cave combines music specially commissioned by BBC Radio 3, visual imagery and soundscapes.
Visitors to the 2019 Edinburgh Festivals will get the opportunity to experience the immersive Fingal’s Cave (using a VR headset), complete with the BBC’s specially commissioned soundscape by composer Aaron May in the BBC’s Virtual Reality Experience at Summerhall (19 – 24 August).
“Through time Fingal’s cave has influenced writers, composers and artists,”says Dr Stuart Jeffrey, Reader in International Heritage Visualisation at the GSA who is co-directing the project with Derek Alexander of NTS. “The virtual cave lives at the intersection of art and technology offering people the chance experience an immersive response to the cave and to get a taste of the wonder, power and even terror, that has inspired so many artists.”
“The virtual model allows you to experience the full wonder of the cave, getting right to the back at water level, something you can’t do very often unless on a really calm day,”’ adds Derek Alexander, Head of Archaeology at The National Trust for Scotland.
Earlier this year BBC Radio 3 unveiled its commission from composer Aaron May who responded to the virtual rather than the real-life experience of the cave in his composition. It was broadcast as part of the Between the Ears documentary strand.
“How a creative person responds to a location, tell us something about the very essence of that place. So it’s been fascinating to hear how Aaron has responded to visiting a virtual reality version of Fingal’s Cave,” says Jack Kibble-White, Digital Development Executive at BBC Scotland. “His striking composition makes us consider the extent to which cutting-edge technology can now capture not just the physical qualities of a location, but also those intangible things too, such as a sense of majesty, awe and emotion,”
This version of The Glasgow School of Art – National Trust for Scotland virtual reality simulation, running on an HTC Vive, will be presented as part of BBC Arts and BBC Radio 3’s presence at Summerhall at Edinburgh Festivals in August 2019To book a place on the BBC Virtual Reality experience visit:https://festival19.summerhall.co.uk/event/bbc-virtual-reality-experience/
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For further information, images and interviews on the Virtual Cave contact:
Lesley Booth: 0779 941 4474 / press@gsa.ac.uk
For further information on the ongoing archaeological work on Staffa contact:
Jim Whyteside on 07889 456779 / jwhyteside@nts.org.uk
For information on the BBC’s Virtual Reality showcase contact: jack.kibble-white@bbc.co.uk