Splendour in the Grass has come and gone until next year, but Heckler and music rights management agency, Secret Sounds Connect, have made sure that Samsung’s participation as a sponsor of the music festival will be remembered.

Heckler and Sydney contemporary artist, Brooklyn Whelan, teamed up to create a fine art meets virtual-reality installation for Secret Sounds Connect, to help the agency promote Samsung’s new S8 handset.

Heckler’s brief was to create an on-site experience that would have festival goers immersed in the art world of Brooklyn Whelan, a Samsung #ToTheMakers ambassador.

In devising the narrative that would keep viewers focused and entertained for the entire virtual experience, Heckler VFX supervisor, Tom Corbett, was determined to push the tech boundaries of the Samsung VR set and to re-create one of Whelan’s dreamy, multi-media artworks on a massive and enveloping scale.

For Whelan, a fine artist whose work is mostly displayed in traditional art galleries, it was an opportunity to show off his art in a unique, purpose-built environment surrounded by over 32,500 music festival goers.

“As an artist, being able to turn my artwork into a living landscape really appealed to me,” he noted.

“Taking my analogue work into the digital realm was definitely an exciting part of the journey and working with Tom was a breeze. Embracing VR for the first time alongside someone whose vision I trust was an exciting experiment I hope to repeat.”

Secret Sounds Connect creative director, Jeremy Hancock, saw that Whelan was a perfect fit for both Splendour In The Grass and Samsung. “Brooklyn comes from the absolute ground zero of counter culture and never strays from the path, which is also one of the pillars that Splendour is built upon,” he explained.

“His authenticity is one of the reasons behind why we got behind this project and why the end result really resonated with our pop culture savvy festival audience.”

Corbett added, “Having followed his [Whelan’s] career for over ten years, I had a good understanding of his art. Working with Brooklyn, as both the artist and director, meant we could really follow through on his vision for the project. It’s not often you get the chance to work with an artist and with Samsung on something as new and exciting as VR.”

Explore behind the scenes here.

Credits:

Client: Secret Sounds Connect
Group Creative Director: Jeremy Hancock
Managing Director, Commercial Rights & Brand Services: Kristy Rosser

Strategic Partnership Director: Nicole Lembeke
Senior Producer: Leighroy Merrick

Festival Partner: Samsung

Artist & Director: Brooklyn Whelan

Production Company: Heckler
VFX Supervisor: Tom Corbett
Head of Production: Aborah Buick
Executive Producer: Will Alexander