We make your artwork pop!
We make your artwork pop!
Six Sisters: augmented reality murals
Our latest digital artwork with Upfest sees six key buildings on Bristol’s North Street burst into life with animated characters that truly blur the lines between real-world graffiti and augmented reality murals.
Following the success of our previous collaborations, Upfest asked us to animate 6 new street artworks which form the ‘Six Sisters’ – Bristol’s take on the Painted Ladies or ‘Seven Sisters.’
In April 2022, we launched our Six Sisters augmented reality mural filters, made in collaboration with 6 of Upfest’s female artists, in the hopes of encouraging people back to Bristol’s streets following the pandemic.
Witness the world shift below, as filmed during one of Upfest’s Street Tours, and read on to find out more.
6
Victorian Facades
6
Fantastic Female Artists
6
Amazing AR Filters
Partners
Thanks to the partnership between Upfest and Bedminster’s local Business Improvement District (BID) that transformed this row of Victorian terraced buildings into the Six Sisters, we have collaborated with Upfest once again to turn these street artworks into augmented reality murals.
During this project, we worked closely with artists Gemma Compton, Zoe Power, Bex Glover, Sophie Long, Ejits and Lucas Antics to ensure our augmented reality murals retained the message of their original art and still felt true to their individual artistic styles and visions.
Visit North Street and try out the augmented reality murals using the filters linked below...
Blurring the lines between real-world graffiti and augmented reality murals
Inspired by San Francisco’s 7 Painted Ladies, our colourful and playful approach to AR felt well-matched to the vibrant artwork adorning this iconic row of Bristol buildings.
The brainchild of Upfest founder Stephen Hayles, the Six Sisters gained their trendy title not only from their identical terraced structure but also as a homage to the six female graffiti artists behind each mural.
Following the arrival of Gemma Compton’s distinctive blue butterfly design above Upfest HQ, Hayles felt it would be an excellent opportunity to promote Bristol’s female urban art scene, made even more profound as it would become ‘the largest series of permanent street art by female artists in the UK, maybe even the world.’
The Six Sisters is a truly unique opportunity to promote the strength of the female urban art scene in Bristol and inspire a future generation of female artists worldwide.
Stephen Hayles – Founder of Upfest
The Six Sisters is a truly unique opportunity to promote the strength of the female urban art scene in Bristol and inspire a future generation of female artists worldwide."
Stephen Hayles – Founder of Upfest
Technology trail to tourist destination
Supported by Bedminster’s local BID, Chair Simon Dicken also hoped the project would be ‘a huge draw for locals and visitors alike, as they can come to explore the streets and enjoy our local retail and hospitality offering,’ all the more important following closures during the pandemic.
Whilst we consider ourselves pros when it comes to digital overlays, the Six Sisters augmented reality murals take AR social media filters to a new level.
We aimed to blur the line between the street art and the street itself, each filter transporting you inside the artworks to a unique world full of Bristolian charm. Here, natural elements like clouds and sunbeams mix with giant butterflies, foxes and bees, whilst kooky anime characters rub shoulders with stylised female figures.
Collaborating directly with the six artists allowed us to work from their design files and match our AR animations to line up exactly their real-world counterparts. We carefully cut out different sections of the artworks before playing with dimensions, spatial relationships and animation.
Layering our cut-outs allowed us to offer people the chance to step into the picture and explore the Six Sisters free from real-space confinement.
We hoped each interactive filter would add a new dimension to the artist’s work, allowing visitors to step inside the murals and create dynamic photographs as a unique souvenir, or to share their experience of North Street with friends.
The Outcome
As the completion of the Six Sisters AR filters coincided with the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions in the UK, it was the perfect project for encouraging local residents back onto the streets of Bristol, whilst carving out a new exciting tourist destination for street art fans all over the world.
Of course, this call back to the high street is not limited to Bristol, with many town centres embracing technology as a means to encourage locals back onto their streets – we have also worked alongside local councils to deliver enticing augmented reality murals and AR trail experiences, such as our recent historic trail for Gravesend.
Once again, working with Upfest has offered yet another unique opportunity to help promote and explore the work of local artists in a manner that is accessible for all.
Upfest will return to Bristol’s streets in 2024. Meanwhile, the Six Sisters murals can still be enjoyed on North Street today.
We like telling your stories
Release your inner artist by testing out the bespoke AR filter we made for Europe’s largest street art and graffiti festival: Upfest. Your collections might be more Botticelli than Banksy but that shouldn’t stop you putting your audiences in the picture. With AR filters you can take a selfie in Monet’s garden, clone yourself into a Warhol or add unexpected objects into your frame like Magritte. With an augmented reality canvas, your artistic expression can be limitless.
