Crafting immersive spaces with Simon Burgin

Creating New Spaces: Interviews with artists redefining spaces through technology

Explore the intricate process of crafting immersive digital spaces with Simon Burgin. Simon Burgin creates immersive artworks and interactive installations featured in prominent venues such as The Lume in Melbourne and the National Museum of Australia. In this episode, Simon shares insights into his project, “Natures Store", an immersive moving image piece created using AI-aided photogrammetry to reimagine natural environments. "Natures Store" was featured as part of Immerse 2024, an event that breaks away from the traditional art gallery setting to share art in unexpected places across Knox, Melbourne, and Australia.

Listen to this podcast to learn about how:

• Simon combines AI-aided photogrammetry with tools like Unreal Engine and TouchDesigner to create detailed, immersive environments.

• Iterative development plays a crucial role in Simon's artistic process.

• The concept of immersion goes beyond scale, focusing on how art engages and transports the audience.

Chapters

(0:00:08) Exploring immersive art through digital and natural environments

(0:04:58) Balancing art and design: iterative development and client needs

(0:09:31) Exploring AI tools in art and commercial work

(0:13:56) The challenges of knowing when to stop in creative work

(0:16:41) Creating immersive art by prioritising audience experience

About Simon Burgin

Simon Burgin is a New Zealand-born digital artist and creative technologist. With 18 years of experience, he explores themes like environment and duality through contemporary media. Simon has developed immersive artworks for venues such as The Lume in Melbourne and WNDR Museum in Boston. His work includes interactive installations for public spaces like Stocklands 'Aura' and museum exhibits for the National Museum of Australia. Simon's projects also extend to brand activations for Nissan and BMW, as well as live A/V performances at events like Dark Mofo and Melbourne Music Week.

Links from the podcast

• Visit Simon Burgin’s website
• Follow Simon Burgin on Instagram
• Learn about Luma Dream Machine the AI-aided photogrammetry app Simon uses
• Learn more about the space Simon created for The Lume Emergent Melbourne
• Learn more about The Lume