New augmented reality art collaboration with Upfest:the Six Sisters
Bristol’s busy streets have been transformed again!
Our latest digital artwork with Upfest sees six key buildings on North Street bursting into life with animated AR characters and scenes that truly blur the lines between real-world graffiti and augmented reality.
Following the success of our previous collaborations, Upfest asked us to animate the six street murals which form the Six Sisters.
A partnership between Upfest and Bedminster’s local Business Improvement District (BID), the Six Sisters are a row of Victorian terraced buildings along North Street. Inspired by San Francisco’s Painted Ladies, Upfest commissioned six female graffiti artists to create colourful murals on the building facades.
Founder of Upfest, Stephen Hayles, believes ‘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’ as it’s ‘the largest series of permanent street art by female artists in the UK, maybe even the world.’
Chair of the Bedminster BID, Simon Dicken, 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.’
Although the project began in 2016, it’s completion six years later coincides with the relaxation of COVID restrictions in the UK, making the Six Sisters an enticing tourist destination.
Many town centres are embracing technology as a means to encourage local residents back to the high street – see our recent historic trail for Gravesend – but the Six Sisters takes AR social media filters to a new level. We created an AR filter for each painted building to truly blur the line between the street art and the street itself.
Our filters transport you inside the artworks to a world where natural elements like clouds and sunbeams mix with giant butterflies, foxes and bees, and kooky anime characters rub shoulders with stylised female figures. Launched via Upfest’s Instagram page, the experiences are packed full of Bristolian charm.
We worked closely with Gemma Compton, Zoe Power, Bex Glover, Sophie Long, Ejits and Lucas Antics to ensure the filters retained the message of the murals and still felt true to their artistic style and vision.
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.
By layering our cut-outs we offer people the chance to step into the picture and explore the Six Sisters free from real-space confinement.
Pop down to North Street today to try it out for yourself, and see the Six Sisters murals transform! Or book one of Upfest’s new walking tours to learn more about the artists and artworks.