‘I always played games,’ says artist Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley. ‘Gaming was something that was always around me. But, to be honest, it felt magical – I had no idea how someone would get Wesley Snipes from Blade into the Blade game. To me, it made no sense. I didn't grow up with a technical background. And so when I started doing art, that was far away from my abilities.’
Brathwaite-Shirley has drawn on this passion for her first institutional solo exhibition at Studio Voltaire, London. Immersive gaming experience, ‘THE REBIRTHING ROOM’, utilises VR technology to pull the viewer into other worlds, exploring different environments in an imagining of the possibilities for Black Trans lives. Players are in control, at the helm of a system exposing their fears and insecurities.
When designing the game, she was keen for viewers to let go of their bodies, fully immersing themselves in a new, digital reality. ‘We're often having conversations, with people saying that the world is holding me back, there are certain limitations that I have that are present. But we'll also talk about some things that we’re doing, like, I'm not getting up early enough, I'm not working on these things, I could be doing extra here. And sometimes it's easier to focus on the larger things than things that you are completely in your control.’
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, ‘THE REBIRTHING ROOM’, 2024. Installation view, Studio Voltaire, London
Brathwaite-Shirley addresses this in the game, with players being asked to pick what they’re struggling with – are they scared of failure, or anxious? Or do they have a problem with addiction, or are they always talking themselves down? ‘I know they'll feel they don't want to say it out loud. And that's kind of what I'm banking on,’ she adds.
Rather than the traditional headset, the VR here is in the form of a sculpture that the wearer moves to light up the screens, eschewing the isolated world of the headpiece and forcing the wearer to confront their insecurities in a room full of people who could help them. ‘Something that I always had a dissonance with is that sometimes it feels hard to get into the cracks of your crowd. Because there's that gap between your activity that works up on stage, and the state that they're in when consuming work. For example, when I go to a movie theatre, I'm in a relaxed position, I can eat my popcorn, I can leave to go the toilet, it's very relaxed; even if the film is incredibly intense and has a very specific message, I'm receiving it in the most gentle way I possibly can. But I feel that when you have a work like this, which is very interactive, the environment is also very freaky, everything fits into one, it's a lot harder to just take the work in. You have to chip away at it yourself. And then it chips away at you hopefully, as well. So it's a joint chipping journey.’
Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, ‘THE REBIRTHING ROOM’, 2024. Installation view, Studio Voltaire, London
‘THE REBIRTHING ROOM’ is at Studio Voltaire until 28 April 2024
Later this year, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley will have a major solo exhibition, commissioned by LAS Art Foundation, at Halle am Berghain, Berlin
-
Fluid workspaces: is the era of prescriptive office design over?We discuss evolving workspaces and track the shape-shifting interiors of the 21st century. If options are what we’re after in office design, it looks like we’ve got them
-
This collection of slow furniture is a powerful ode to timeA serene exhibition of David Dolcini's 'Time-made' collection has fast-tracked its place into our hearts and homes
-
Is the Pragma P1 the most sustainable watch yet?Geneva-based brand Pragma combines industrial design with real sustainable credentials
-
A major Frida Kahlo exhibition is coming to the Tate Modern next yearTate’s 2026 programme includes 'Frida: The Making of an Icon', which will trace the professional and personal life of countercultural figurehead Frida Kahlo
-
A portrait of the artist: Sotheby’s puts Grayson Perry in the spotlightFor more than a decade, photographer Richard Ansett has made Grayson Perry his muse. Now Sotheby’s is staging a selling exhibition of their work
-
Celia Paul's colony of ghostly apparitions haunts Victoria MiroEerie and elegiac new London exhibition ‘Celia Paul: Colony of Ghosts’ is on show at Victoria Miro until 17 April
-
Teresa Pągowska's dreamy interpretations of the female form are in London for the first time‘Shadow Self’ in Thaddaeus Ropac’s 18th-century townhouse gallery in London, presents the first UK solo exhibition of Pągowska’s work
-
Sylvie Fleury's work in dialogue with Matisse makes for a provocative exploration of the female form'Drawing on Matisse, An Exhibition by Sylvie Fleury’ is on show until 2 May at Luxembourg + Co
-
What to see at BFI Flare film festival, 'a rich tapestry of queer experience'As one of the only film festivals to explicitly profile LGBTQI+ cinema, BFI Flare Film Festival remains a unique and beloved event. Here's what to see as it makes its return to London from 19 - 30 March
-
The enduring appeal of Transport for London’s seat designsFrom artist Rita Keegan’s new collage to fashion designer Adam Jones’ Overground suit, TfL moquettes continue to enjoy a cult status
-
‘There's a lot to fear and a lot to love in this world’: Penny Goring unveils new work in LondonA new collection of large-scale collages takes centre stage at 'Penny Goring: Cold Hunt Corsage' at Arcadia Missa, London
