Factory 42 has been commissioned by Sky Arts, in collaboration with Google Arts and Culture, to produce Virtual Reality: The Mystery of Creativity, four virtual reality experiences and a documentary that will see world renowned artists – Antony Gormley, Jonathan​ ​Yeo,​ ​​Farshid Moussavi​ ​and​ ​Humphrey​ ​Ocean​ – experiment with VR as an art form, as part of the 250th anniversary celebrations of the Royal Academy of Arts.

Virtual Reality: The Mystery of Creativity will be part of From Life, a special exhibition project at the Royal Academy of Arts, examining what making art from life has meant to artists throughout history and how the practice is evolving as technology opens up new ways of creating and visualising artwork. For the first time, the Royal Academy will be working with these artists to explore emerging technologies. Each artist will create new artwork for the exhibition using artistic software programmes such as Google Tilt Brush.

Factory 42 have been commissioned to produce a one-off, 60 minute documentary for Sky Arts, an exploration of creating art in a VR environment. With exclusive access to the artists’ studios and working environments, the film will capture the thrills and creative trepidation as artists explore a new medium, and examines, in never seen before detail, the process and progress as each artwork takes shape.

Factory 42 will also create VR experiences based on each artist’s creative process and their output. The VR experiences will be available to visitors to the From Life exhibition at the Royal Academy, as well as via the Sky VR and Google Arts & Culture apps. Dan Smith, creative director of Factory 42, will direct the VR experiences.

Virtual Reality: Mystery of Creativity will be directed by Emmy and BAFTA nominated director Randall Wright and co-executive produced by John Cassy and James Hunt. Wright’s credits include the theatrically released documentaries Summer in the Forest and Hockney, which was nominated for the Grierson Award.  The documentary will air on Sky Arts in December and was commissioned by Siobhan Mulholland at Sky.

“The parameters of virtual reality are as limitless as people’s imaginations,’ comments John Cassy, Chief Executive, Factory 42. “Seeing the direction which these extraordinary artists take that creative freedom will be incredibly exciting, and we’re delighted to be involved in helping them to realise that vision.”

Philip Edgar-Jones, Director, Sky Arts says; “We’re delighted to be working with Factory 42, the Royal Academy of Arts and several world renowned artists on The Mystery of Creativity.  Sky Arts is all about exploring the possibilities and potential of the arts and I believe both the VR experiences and the behind the scenes documentary will be like nothing we’ve seen before.”

Amit Sood, Director of Google Arts and Culture says: “We are excited to collaborate with Factory 42, the Royal Academy of Arts and Jonathan Yeo Studio to capture Jonathan Yeo’s creative process as he creates a new sculptural artwork using Google’s Tilt Brush for this cutting edge RA exhibition, From Life.”

Tim Marlow, Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Arts comments: “From Life is an experimental project that explores everything from artistic process to technological evolution and creative collaboration. I’m delighted that Factory 42 is helping to bring a landmark exhibition into being.”