REBIRTHING ROOM

It’s dark Cold The trees arch their back over to whisper in your ear. "There is someone amongst our trunks Beneath our branches In the shadow of our leaves Searching For no one else but you They have found you And now Under our cover They follow you.” Marking the end of Brathwaite-Shirley’s. (b. 1995, UK) year-long artist residency at Studio Voltaire, the "REBIRTHING ROOM" demonstrates her ongoing research into the history of gaming, its role as an art form path finder educational tool with an innovative use of VR technology as a site for debate and critical discussion. Brathwaite-Shirley's practice SEEKS TO ARCHIVE BLACK TRANS EXPERIENCE USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMAGINE BLACK TRANS LIVES IN ENVIRONMENTS THAT CENTRE THEIR BODIES. THOSE LIVING THOSE THAT HAVE PASSED AND THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN FORGOTTEN. The expansive thematics of Brathwaite-Shirley’s practice include digital real estate archiving and Possible futures of Black and Brown Trans bodies At Studio Voltaire, Brathwaite-Shirley has created a space where the Audience can choose to be BORN AGAIN YOU FIND YOURSELF WITHIN A FOREST IT CAN CHANGE YOU WILL YOU LET IT? THE REBIRTHING ROOM 'hacked’ the technology of a VR headset, turning it into an audience-operated controller. The headset’s individualised screen experience has instead become a large-scale projection-mapped environment, which requires the audience to work collaboratively in order to effectively navigate the space. WE ARE WAITING IT'S IN YOUR HANDS Terms & Conditions YOU ARE BEING LET INTO A SPACE THIS SPACE IS FOR THOSE THIS COUNTRY HAS FAILED TO KEEP SAFE THOSE THAT MUST REMAIN SILENT THOSE THAT WERE ABANDONED AND HAD TO CHANGE IN THE SHADOWS THIS IS A SPACE FOR THOSE THAT DIED IN YOUR EYES ONLY TO RISE AGAIN AS THEMSELVES FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS IS A PRO BLACK PRO TRANS SPACE CALLED THE REBIRTHING ROOM IN ENTERING THIS ROOM YOU AGREE BE REBORN IN THE SHADOWS YOU MAY FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE YOU MAY NOT SURVIVE TREAD CAREFULLY “We are hiding more of ourselves. Not only our identity but our honesty. Scared to say the wrong things within the right group. Scared into being silenced by our own kind. Welcome to the REBIRTHING ROOM. A room which allows the viewers to come and be reborn in authenticity. This environment has not been made for your pleasure but instead as a purpose to give you a new life. Enter the space if you are ready to be reborn in the shadows.”