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Renowned exhibition part of permanent new show

A º£½ÇÖ±²¥ lecturer’s internationally renowned exhibition can now be seen as part of a new £1.5m permanent show at a leading UK science attraction.

Simon Mckeown, from the School of Computing, created Motion Disabled – a digital exploration of bodies and biological pathologies of people who are physically disabled. It is expected tens of thousands of people will see it over the next five years as part of the ‘All About Us’ exhibition at At-Bristol, the leading UK science attraction on Bristol’s harbourside.

Simon’s work makes use of motion capture used in film and computer games along with 3D animation to highlight the uniqueness of each person’s physicality. He was named Artist of the Year 2010 by DaDaFest, the UK’s largest disability and deaf arts festival.

The exhibition in At-Bristol is a permanent science exhibition funded by the Wellcome Trust who also sponsored Simon’s Motion Disabled. There are 50 hands-on exhibits all about the human body and brain.

Simon, a Reader in computer animation, says: ‘It is fantastic that my work is featured as part of this permanent exhibition, giving so many people the chance to see it.

‘The exhibition will increase the knowledge of the diversity of the human body for a huge audience and it is great to be part of that.’

‘The exhibition will increase the knowledge of the human body for a huge audience and it is great to be part of that.’

Commenting on the Motion Disabled exhibit, Dan Bird, Exhibitions Director for At-Bristol said: ‘When the opportunity arose to work with Simon we were very keen to explore and engage our visitors with the idea of normality and difference. All About Us allows visitors to discover just how amazing each and everyone one of us are and explores our uniqueness, how we come into this world, our amazing human functions and ability to adapt and relate to the world around us.’

Simon featured 14 actors with different disabilities, motion capturing and animating them performing a range of their day to day activities from kickboxing to riding a bicycle. The result when applied to avatars allows the viewer to see different body forms in a neutral way and to question the value of difference in society.

• Visit the School of Computing new website

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