SENTIENTS
Immersive Exhibition
Open your animal eyes. A collection of groundbreaking video games and virtual reality.
If you weren’t human - how would you see the world?
From raging wildfire to the vision of an owl, from a river to multiple galaxies, SENTIENTS is about being something else.
Bringing together award-winning and brand-new works, this collection of video games and virtual reality invites you to see through other eyes. Discover wild imaginings and animal visions. Look through windows into a world in conflict. Adventure into strange lands.
This exhibition was developed with a group of Young Curators from across Bristol and shaped by the themes, ideas and questions that mattered most to them.
Featuring work from Marshmallow Laser Feast, Alice Bucknell, Alan Kwan and David O’Reilly.
In The Eyes of The Animal
In this immersive VR journey through a forest ecosystem, you become a mosquito, a dragonfly, a frog, and an owl - experiencing the world through each of their senses and perspectives. Created by award-winning immersive arts studio Marshmallow Laser Feast.
How to experience this work
A virtual reality experience in which you sit down on a tree stump wearing a waistcoat that produces physical vibrations in sync with the experience (called a rumble pack or haptic vest). There are three headsets in the gallery, and you will be in an enclosed area for privacy. A gallery assistant will help you in and out of the headset and be available for anything you need during the experience.
About the artists
Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) is an experiential artist collective. They believe in the power of stories to tickle senses and shift perceptions. Their work takes people on a multisensory journey where imagination and information collide.
From coders to poets, chemists to ventriloquists, brands to institutions, they collaborate with specialists in all disciplines - to explore new forms of culture, interrogate relationships with the world around us and leave a glittery slug trail across the cosmos. They tell stories that untangle, entangle and flavour reality, blurring the lines between art, immersive experiences, XR, and film.
Scent
A short cinematic game exploring what it means to witness without power. Taking the role of a dog, you roam a city in the aftermath of conflict, gathering the souls of the dead. As you walk, hide and run through the landscape, the game immerses you in a raw, sensory experience of darkness, fear and fleeting moments of beauty.
"I wanted to create this space for people to put in their own imaginations - and relate to what they are experiencing in the real world.”
- Alan Kwan
How to experience this work
Content warning: This work contains representations of war, and death.
A 20-minute deeply atmospheric game, presented inside a separate darkened space. While there is a single console and only one person at a time may operate the controls, the work can also be experienced as a spectator. The controls may also be shared between a small group throughout the duration of the game. The sound plays on wireless headphones. It is recommended to start the game at the beginning and experience the unfolding narrative.
About the artists
Working at the intersection of cinema and videogames, award-winning artist Alan Kwan creates immersive experiences that evoke feelings of heartbreak, fear, and the sublime.
His practice centres on experimental video games and VR installations that challenge traditional gaming paradigms and the typical technological fantasies associated with VR and AR. Rather than simulating external reality, Kwan crafts psychological spaces within 3D virtual worlds - evocative, introspective environments that invite players and viewers to wander, daydream, and reflect.
Everything
In this multi-award-winning game, every object is a playable character - from bears to furniture to galaxies. The soundtrack is made of quotations from philosopher Alan Watts. Travel between outer and inner space to explore an interconnected universe of things without enforced goals, scores, or tasks to complete.
How to experience this work
A single console installed on a computer with a large screen. One person at a time operates the controls and the work can also be enjoyed as a spectator. The controls can also be shared between a small group throughout the duration of the game. The soundtrack is made from lectures given by Alan Watts between 1965 and 1973 – and edited by the lead artist, David O’Reilly. The sound is played on Bluetooth headphones, and parts of the transcript are available to read.
About the artists
David O’Reilly is an artist based in Upstate New York whose work explores worlds and simulations: systems that unfold, behave, and resist conventional narrative. His practice spans animation, video games, and large-scale installation. His work has been shown at the Barbican Centre, NTT ICC, the Walker Art Center, IMMA Dublin, MAAT Lisbon, SFMOMA, and the Hong Kong Arts Centre, and has been the subject of retrospectives at MoMA New York, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and New Chitose International Animation Festival. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The Alluvials
Explore this futuristic vision of a climate-ravaged Los Angeles - where drought and wildfire have drastically changed the landscape. With both a computer-generated film and a playable game, The Alluvials invites you to leave your human perspective behind. Play as a wolf exploring a burned-out area of a deserted city and float through a neon flooded world where the river has transformed life as we know it.
“Bucknell’s captivating, satirical works are as thought-provoking as they are rebellious.”
- Kate Neave, OpenLab
How to experience this work
An experimental video game set in a fictional future Los Angeles shaped by climate crisis and water insecurity. The game is installed in the gallery on two large floor-based screens, with soft seating nearby. One person at a time operates the controls, but the work can also be experienced collectively as a spectator – or by sharing control within a small group. Sound is played on headphones and there are multiple headphones per screen.
About the artists
Alice Bucknell is a North American artist, writer and educator based in Los Angeles. Their work explores the affective dimensions of video games as interfaces for understanding complex systems, relationships, and forms of knowledge. Bucknell is generally interested in the limits of scientific knowledge and systems thinking, the weird possibilities of play, and the ecological dimensions of games that can dissolve binaries like humans vs environment, natural vs synthetic intelligence, and self vs world.
What to Expect
When you arrive at Undershed, a Gallery Assistant will welcome you and explain how the exhibition works before you enter the main gallery space.
There are four different artworks to experience – three video games and one virtual reality experience and there is no specific order to follow while you explore the exhibition.
In the Eyes of The Animal and Scent are story-based experiences with set durations. Everything has no fixed ending, so you can continue exploring for as long as you wish, and The Alluvials is flexible in length so you can take your time to experience it. Your ticket gives you access to the space for 90 minutes.
Unlike traditional video games played at home, these games are not designed to take hours to complete with multiple levels to progress through, or enemies to beat. They are games made by artists, offering unusual worlds to explore and characters to embody.
Each artwork has its own area in the gallery, and the gallery assistants will always be available to support you as you move between them, helping you get set up where needed.
Exhibition information
Comfort and Wellbeing
There are seats and benches available in the gallery, as well as spaces where you can lie down. Gallery Assistants are happy to help if you need extra seating.
How it works
When you arrive, you enter our welcome area, a Gallery Assistant will greet you, explain what to expect, and answer any questions.
At the end, we invite you to share your feedback and tell us how the exhibition felt for you.
Your Booking
Your ticket gives you access to the timed session you have booked for. It will show you the start and end time of your session. You are welcome to arrive at any point within this period, but we recommend you arrive at least 45 minutes before the end to give you time for the whole experience.
If we can do anything to make your visit to Undershed easier, please email us and we'll be happy to help.
Opening Times
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Mon – Fri: 12:30 – 20:00
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Sat: 11:00 – 20:00
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Sun: 11:00 – 18:30
There is a maximum capacity of 18 people in the gallery at any one time. The full experience, from arrival to departure, takes around 90 minutes.
If the gallery isn’t too busy, you can stay a little longer, but we may ask you to leave when new arrivals join.
We recommend pre-booking in advance online, in person at Box Office or by phone on 0117 927 5100. Any slots that have not been booked are available for walk-up customers at the Box Office.
Ticket Prices
Tickets are priced pay what you can from £5. Further details are on our booking pages.
Companion tickets are available for those on our access register.
The Practicalities
Welcome Area
In the welcome area of Undershed there are spaces to leave your belongings while you are inside the exhibition. A Gallery Assistant will be in this area at all times.
Can I bring my baby / toddler to Undershed?
Yes. Babes in arms are welcome. There is limited space in the gallery for pushchairs / prams so these should ideally be left folded in the welcome area. Please make sure that any children who are mobile are carefully supervised at all times.
Food & Drink
Please do not bring in outside food or drink into Undershed. Watershed Café & Bar is on the first floor for refreshments before and after your visit to Undershed.
Toilet breaks
You are welcome to use any of the toilet facilities in Watershed then come back into Undershed.
Photos & Videos
Photos & videos are allowed in Undershed, but please do not take or share images of people without permission whilst they are participating in the work.
Visiting Undershed for the first time
Undershed Gallery is located on the ground floor of Watershed – the entrance is to the right of the Box Office desk.
If you haven't been to Watershed before, check out the Watershed Visit page for access, location and transport information.
SENTIENTS Access
The VR piece uses a headset and a haptic vest (wearable pack)
There are 3 seats available at one time and the piece runs for 9 minutes. It runs like a film and there are no controls required.
The games all use hand controllers including PS4 and XBOX controllers, and even a controller that is a real rock with buttons on it.
The content in the work ranges from fun and silly, colourful games with spoken narratives, to dark games with gunshots and themes of war and climate emergency. As with a game arcade, it is likely audiences may get excited and noisy at times. At other times, people may be very focused and quiet.
The exhibition is accessible to most ages, though the recommended age is 12+
Anyone under 16 must be joined and supervised by a parent or guardian. Gallery assistants cannot supervise children.
There are places to sit throughout the gallery
Benches and stools are available, as well as beanbags, yoga mats and blankets on request if you need to lie down.
If you cannot find a seat and would like one, please speak to a Gallery Assistant.
We welcome resting at any point while you’re in Undershed.
Facilities
You can breastfeed anywhere in Watershed. If you would like a bit more privacy, a gallery assistant can advise on spaces that may be available, though we cannot guarantee a private room.
Changing facilities are available in male, female, gender-neutral, and accessible toilets. Gallery assistants are happy to help if you need any support during your visit.
SENTIENTS is designed to be as inclusive and relaxed as possible
There are dark areas as well as brightly lit colourful and low-level lit areas. Please take time to accustom yourself to your surroundings in each space. Ear defenders are available if you need them. You're more than welcome to chat or make noise whilst in the space.
Spacious sessions are available for visitors who prefer more room to move and less people in the gallery. Instead of 18 people in the gallery, there will be 12 for these sessions.
We are exploring the most appropriate ways to provide audio description and descriptive subtitles for this exhibition and will update as soon as this has been designed.
If you would like a tour to familiarise yourself with the environment, then please contact the Undershed team to arrange this.
We're excited to welcome you to Undershed
If we can do anything to make your visit to Undershed easier, or you have any questions or feedback please get in touch, we'll be happy to help.
We know there will be things we can improve on and adapt.
Find out more about general Undershed access
Overview
SENTIENTS is an interactive exhibition of three video games and one VR piece across multiple spaces throughout the gallery. The VR experience uses a headset and haptic vest (rumble pack) and runs like a short film. The video games all use hand controllers and screens and are single player but we invite you to play with friends.
Credit: Paul Blakemore
What is Undershed?
Undershed is a gallery for showing the best immersive and interactive artwork from all over the world. The first of its kind in Bristol and rare across the UK – this dedicated space will stage themed exhibitions that change every few months.
Undershed is a place to come together and experiment with new forms of storytelling. Come on in, keep an open mind and tell us what you think.
Undershed Immersive Gallery is funded by
With thanks to our sponsor Redcliffe Imaging
