Solstice goes interactive

An extraordinary exhibition for adults and children alike opens to the public at Solstice Arts Centre from Friday 19th October to Friday 23rd November. Using over 50 electronic devices including Macs, PCs, Kinect cameras, video-stereoscopes, perception-headsets and a thermin, 'Hall of Mirrors' by artists Cleary & Connolly, strives to awaken the public to the complex and beautiful processes that are involved in seeing. The exhibition is a collaboration between Paris based Irish artists Cleary & Connolly, the Irish scientific research institution CLARITY, Laboratoire Psychologie de la Percetion and the French Université Paris Descartes. It was originally curated by Vincent O'Shea. Vision is the theme, and visitors have the opportunity to explore historic experiments in visual perception - by stepping into the camera they can become Dotman, a 13 point dot-figure used by Gunnar Johannson in 1973 to examine biological movement. This installation uses gaming technology to map points onto a moving subject in the same way as the recent generation of video games, using Microsoft's Kinect camera. Further along visitors can try on Darth Vadar-like headsets, allowing them to experience the world up-side down, as did George Stratton in 1896, for his perceptive adaptation experiments, or they can check out their binocular vision by peering into a "Wheatsone Cinemascope", inspired by the original Wheatstone stereoscope invented in 1838 by Charles Wheatstone. The exhibition comes to Navan from Limerick and Farmleigh, where it received over 15,000 visitors. It includes a strong educational aspect in the form of workbooks and activities designed especially for families and schools visiting this Navan exhibition. The exhibition opens on Thursday 18th October at 7.30pm in the Solstice Galleries. Artist Anne Cleary will give a special Gallery Talk on Friday 19th October at 1pm, suitable for both adults and children. Niamh Clarke has been travelling with the show and will lead school group tours throughout the exhibition, on completion each student will receive a Scientist Certificate. On Tuesday 6th November at 11.30am, there will be a 'Clarity Talk' for 4th-6th Year school students, discussing the technology and science behind many of the exciting installations. All events are free of charge but tours and talks must be pre-booked through the Solstice Box Office. In addition, an exhibition of Desmond Kenny's work will open in the Solstice Foyer from Friday 19 October to Friday 23 November. A blissful and inspiring delight for both children and adults, his wonderfully fun paintings are made with glitter, string, plastic gems and beads in sugary dazzling colour. Families and junior school groups can enjoy interactive workshops tailored to their needs throughout the exhibition. There is a small charge per head and all workshops must be pre-booked. The galleries are open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am-4pm and entrance is free of charge.