Stepping into the frame

The painting – a seascape by Paul West, artist and co-founder of consultancy Form – is brought to life through a haptic pen and a 3D sound installation.

Moving the haptic pen around will allow the view to ‘feel’ the texture of the sea and sky, as well as hear it, in an immersive experience.

West says, ‘If you move the pen to the top-left, you will get the sound of storm wind to the left-hand side and the pen moves freely.

‘When you go below the horizon you get a heavy splash and submersion. Below the horizon you hear the sounds of being underwater in any direction you point and the pen gets more difficult to move – as if it’s underwater.’

West says he started working on the installation last year with Middlesex University creative directors in residence Florian Dussopt and Nick Phillips. Sound specialist Dave Hunt was also brought in to work on the project.

As well as creating the painting West also worked on the branding of the exhibition.

He says, ‘I created a strong graphic frame that would give the entire event a visual hook. For the marketing side, I wanted the frame deconstructed by running the heavily textured painting through it – creating the suggestion of an art piece while keeping it anonymous prior to the event.’

The Into the Frame team believes the installation could also operate as a tool for neuro-rehabilitation, and team has published a paper on its potential at the International Conference for Rehabilitation Robotics in the USA.

Into the Frame is at Shoreditch Red Gallery, 1-3 Rivington Street, London EC2A, from 29 January-5 February.