The Waiting Room VR

To accompany the release of Motherboard, Victoria Mapplebeck's candid autobiographical documentary (we have a Preview + Q&A with Victoria on Wed 20 Aug, then the film opens from Fri 22 Aug), we present her Virtual Reality piece The Waiting Room, footage of which appears in the film and documents her experience with breast cancer.

When Victoria Mapplebeck was diagnosed with breast cancer, she decided to record each step of her journey from diagnosis to recovery. Seeing her cancer cells under the microscope inspired Mapplebeck to work with 3D artists to bring to life the medical imaging she collected through her treatment (CT scans, mammograms and ultrasound). The lynchpin of this VR piece is a 9-minute durational 360 take, a reconstruction of Victoria’s last session of radiotherapy, which marked the end of nine months of treatment. 

The Waiting Room explores illness from a patient’s point of view and reminds the audience of the person behind the diagnosis. It premiered at the Venice Biennale in 2019 and won IDFA’s Digital Storytelling award.

Victoria says:

"When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I decided to record each step of my journey from diagnosis to recovery. I wanted to explore the myths and language of chronic illness and to confront what we can and what we can’t control when we’re living with a chronic illness. I set out to create an intimate and visceral portrait of cancer treatment and its transformative impact on the body and family life. Ultimately, I hope The Waiting Room VR will remind the audience of the person behind the diagnosis."

For this 16-minute individual VR experience you will be seated in a large, airy room on a swivel chair and fitted with a VR headset by a team member.

The max capacity for each time slot is 2 people, so there may be one other person separately experiencing the piece at the same time as you.

There will also be a quiet room available for anyone who needs it.

This VR piece is also suitable for wheelchair users.

The Waiting Room VR is funded by: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), University of Bath, University of Bristol, UWE Bristol and Watershed

• Bookers for Motherboard (we have a Preview + Q&A with Victoria Mapplebeck on Wed 20 Aug, then the film opens from Fri 22 Aug) will receive a code to book The Waiting Room for free.

---