Take a virtually intimate walk in another's shoes

Put aside your inhibitions, sit down with another person and look into their eyes

PLAYING WITH REALITY: Rockhampton Art Gallery volunteer Jarred Kennedy experiences the virtual reality headset in front of Andrew Styan's Life Support System 2016 installation. Picture: Jann Houley

READY player one.

Visitors to the Rockhampton Art Gallery can explore the power of human connection through the In My Shoes: Intimacy VR experience for another four weeks.

The virtual reality experience allows two guests over the age of 13 - preferably strangers - to don the headsets and engage with each other in a virtual world for 16 minutes.

The 360 film project was written and directed by Jane Gauntlett and tells the story of two strangers, two comrades, and two lovers.

The documentary, which premiered at the 2017 Sheffield Doc/Fest, invites viewers to "put aside your inhibitions, sit down with another person and look into their eyes".

There may be some short wait times which will prove the perfect opportunity to experience the art gallery's other offerings, including the Experimenta Make Sense: International Triennial of Media Art exhibition which runs concurrently.

Described as both "playful and challenging" the program of more than 20 leading international and Australian artists asks its audience what it means to be human in an age of technological acceleration.

The virtual reality experience runs until December 2 and bookings can be made upon arrival at the gallery.

There is no charge for the experiences.

At the Gallery

• Jon Cattapan: The spaces of and between (August 25 - November 25)
• Experimenta Make Sense: International Triennial of Media Art (October 13 - December 2)
• Cymatic: The Visualisation of Sound (October 20 - December 9)
• Rod Laver: Rockhampton Art Gallery Collection (October 20 - December 9)

Originally published as Take a virtually intimate walk in another's shoes