Sir Sidney Nolan’s Ned Kelly paintings reimagined through the lens of Virtual Reality (VR)
Jerilderie: A Letter from Cyberspace is a VR art project inspired by the work of Australian artist Sir Sidney Nolan and our enduring cultural anti-hero, Edward ‘Ned’ Kelly. Created using Google Tilt Brush (now Open Brush), the project began in 2019 and served as the catalyst for my ongoing PhD research into object-centric immersive VR art practice.
The project explores how volumetric painting can transform traditional two-dimensional artworks into immersive three-dimensional experiences. By reimagining Nolan’s iconic Ned Kelly series in VR, audiences are invited to step inside the artwork itself, experiencing these familiar Australian images from entirely new perspectives.
The title derives from Kelly’s infamous Kelly’s infamous Jerilderie Letter – https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/featur… a rambling manifesto in which he attempted to justify his actions.
“‘I am a Widow’s Son, outlawed and my orders must be obeyed…”
As soon as I began creating in VR, I knew that Nolan’s paintings would lend themselves beautifully to immersive reinterpretation. I started with Ned Kelly (1946), a work familiar to many Australians and one often used in primary schools to inspire young artists.
To date, I have completed five works from the series, leaving only another two hundred or so still to reinterpret! What began as an artistic experiment has evolved into a long-term creative journey, closely intertwined with my doctoral research. Along the way, the project has provided valuable insights into volumetric mark-making, spatial composition, and the translation of traditional artworks into immersive VR experiences.
The full Google Tiltbrush files are available on Poly @https://poly.google.com/view/espmC2CyjJE
