You just have to build your own!

The problem with augmented art is it needs connectivity or it isn’t going to be augmented, and while I make the paintings as standalone as possible, I add the AR as a way for it to speak in a different voice. So it’s a bit like turning up to a ‘do’ in your best frock but without the accessories. Sort of.

Locally, there’s barely a phone signal anywhere, and finding a venue with – ok just finding a venue and never mind one with wifi – is well nigh impossible.

Solution? A virtual gallery.

I found Artsteps recently and spent a mad day and a half trying to position pieces of art so they didn’t stick out of the roof or park in the middle of the room. I lost one piece for an hour then found it outside.

Tricky business but I think I have it nailed (or glued or Command stripped) and I’d love to hear what you think.

There are two galleries; the first, Strayfish Gallery, is for my degree course work and the other, Strayfish Video Gallery, is a collection of some of the videos I use as layers in paintings. These play by linking to YouTube.

Both Strayfish Gallery and Strayfish Video Gallery have guided tours which you can access by pressing the video play symbol at the bottom of the screen. Or you can wing it and scoot round in your own time and to your own plan. There’s no audio to the tour but there’s plenty on the images in the video gallery and in the picture gallery if you aim the Artivive app at the ones with the logo next to them.

Here’s a screen shot. The little line diagram bottom left shows where you are if you get lost, and you can click into it to put yourself somewhere else. You don’t get an avatar so there’s no faffing around in hair and makeup, and there will be no one else there with you, although there might be someone in another instance of the same place. Spooky, eh?

SCH 2023