Mat Collishaw | Thresholds

Photo London and Somerset House, in collaboration with Blain|Southern Gallery, presents Thresholds, a new virtual reality (VR) artwork by internationally acclaimed artist Mat Collishaw.

Using the latest VR technology, Collishaw will restage Fox Talbot’s pioneering 1839 exhibition of photography. With the aid of Collishaw’s careful digital reconstructions, this immersive experience will enable visitors to travel back in time to the moment when British scientist William Henry Fox Talbot first presented his photographic prints to the public in Birmingham.

Mat Collishaw is a key figure in the important generation of British artists who emerged from Goldsmith’s College in the late 1980s. Fox Talbot’s 1839 exhibition was the first major public exhibition of photographs, showcasing what was then the newest and most innovative of technologies in image creation. Collishaw aims to inspire a similar sense of wonderment for a present-day audience using VR, the most cutting-edge visual technology available today.

6 visitors will be allowed in the exhibition at a time. Tickets for Mat Collishaw’s Thresholds must be booked separately and can be purchased via the Somerset House website here. The exhibition will run until 11 June 2017.

Collishaw will also feature in the Fair’s Talks Programme, which is once again curated by distinguished author and curator William A. Ewing.