Carbon Women is a mixed-reality opera experience for Meta Quest 3, adapting an aria from composer Áine Mallon’s original opera. Working with Ulster Touring Opera, director Dee Harvey and producer Dafydd Hall Williams, Whitepot Studios developed the experience around artwork and a physical prototype created by artist Áine Gordon.
The Mixed Reality Experience
The audience begins high above the scene, looking down on Andromeda chained to the rock. A winged figure – a pure Norn Iron Perseus – flies past to tell her of the fate that awaits her, before the viewer swoops down to sea level and comes face-to-face with Andromeda.
The world around her is built from high-resolution scans of Gordon’s hand-drawn artwork. As the aria continues, those illustrated elements gradually fall away, revealing the viewer’s real surroundings through the Quest 3’s colour passthrough.
That transition between the drawn world and the physical room became part of the performance itself, using mixed reality as a piece of theatrical staging rather than simply a way to display virtual scenery.
From Concept To Headset
Gordon’s original concept began as a hand-built box prototype. Whitepot translated that visual idea into a full-scale spatial experience while retaining the handmade character of the artwork.
Our work included Unity development, Meta Quest 3 mixed reality, passthrough effects, real-time 3D, XR prototyping and integration of high-resolution scanned artwork.
The five-minute prototype made its public debut at The MAC in Belfast as part of Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Digital Arts Showcase. It later appeared at further digital and immersive arts showcases, while Carbon Women went on to be selected for the NewImages Festival XR Development Market in Paris and receive further Immersive Arts funding for development.
Services
Mixed Reality Development · Meta Quest Development · Unity Development · XR Prototyping · Passthrough · Real-time 3D · Immersive Theatre · Interactive Installation
Press, Exhibitions & Related Links
Arts Council NI – Digital Art Celebrated in Arts Council Showcase
Immersive Arts – Carbon Women
Dafydd Hall Williams – Carbon Women Public Debut at The MAC
Instagram – A behind the scenes look at Carbon Women
