Men of the South: A virtual reality take on iconic War of Independence painting
Men Of The South, by Sean Keating, at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork.
Seán Keating’s Men of the South is one of the most iconic paintings of the Irish War of Independence. It depicts a group of six fighters from the 2nd North Cork Brigade of the IRA – Jim Riordan, Denis O’Mullane, Jim Cashman, John Jones, Roger Kiely and Dan Browne – all armed and shown in profile, as if preparing for battle. It was acquired for the Crawford Art Gallery in April 1924.
One hundred years later, the artist’s grandson David Keating and his collaborator Linda Curtin present Sit Stand Smoke, a Virtual Reality exploration of the painting, in the same room in the Crawford as it hangs in today. The experience requires the viewer to don a Virtual Reality headset and remain seated in a chair while an 18-minute 3-D drama appears to unfold all around them. More than 100 technicians and actors were involved in its making.
