ARTWORK IN VIRTUAL REALITY
by curtin // keating

SIT STAND SMOKE

Set in 1921 and the present day, SIT STAND SMOKE inhabits three interlocking worlds.

Exploring motivations for artist Seán Keating to create his iconic Irish War of Independence painting Men Of The South; SIT STAND SMOKE advocates a quiet revolution that could still rise from a host of lost promises from 100 years ago.

Provocative, poignant, personal, shot in 360 stereoscopic + volumetric capture; this 18 minute 3DOF VR experience unfolds in a fine-art packing crate, a VR studio casting session, a ghostly encounter, and the lush Irish landscape.

CONTEMPORARY RESPONSE in vr TO an ICONIC IRISH ARTWORK

In the last days of the truce that ended the Irish War of Independence in January 1922, the artist Seán Keating painted Men Of The South, a group portrait of 6 x armed volunteer fighters from the North Cork Brigade of the IRA. To protect their identities, Keating made the men look older in case they had to return to war. In Keating’s eyes they were heroes but by the time the painting hung on the wall of a major art gallery, just two years later, he had become disgusted by violence and remained so for the rest of his life.

In the intervening century, Men Of The South has become the most visited artwork at the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork. Its sister painting, An IRA Column, hangs in the office of the President of Ireland, at Áras an Uachtaráinn in Dublin.

SIT STAND SMOKE was shot on location in Co Cork, Ireland in Feb/March ’24. The collaboration of over 100 cast & crew - and with partners working across 6 countries using spatial technology that Seán Keating would have loved.

The VR experience was Exhibited at the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, in May 2024 as part of the Building As Witness programme.

the artists

CURTIN// KEATING

With separate but overlapping practices, Linda Curtin & David Keating are fascinated by the process of making co-authored work. Curtin’s background is as a visual artist and participatory filmmaker working in immersive art. Keating comes from screenwriting, feature film directing and physical theatre.

Sharing a passion for emerging technologies, immersive narratives, and character driven stories - especially when they combine in virtual reality - they both approach subjects such as how best to engage audiences in questions such as “what constitutes real?”; “what am I being told?” and “where is the edge of reality?”.

COLLABORATIVE TEAM

Created by: CURTIN // KEATING

In association with: Dyspla | Khora

Cinematography: Peter Collis
Volumetric: Kazimir Bielecki
Script Consultant: Dr Éimear O’Connor

Cast

Crew

PRESS

Marc O’Sullivan, Irish Examiner, 05/05/24

David Keating & Dr Éimear O’Connor,
Arena, 05/05/24

Little Black Book, Heritage, 17/05/24

ARTWORK IN VIRTUAL REALITY
by curtin // keating

SIT STAND SMOKE