Artistic license in heritage visualisation: VR Sydney cove circa 1800

Abstract

Heritage visualisations are works of the cultural imaginary and this paper examines the artwork Artistic License: VR Sydney Cove ca. 1800 which foregrounds the interpretive nature of heritage visualisation. It is a re-imagining in virtual reality of A View of Sydney Cove, New South Wales, 1804, a contemporaneous print of Sydney Cove. Existing in the liminal space between accuracy and authenticity it is both art object and heritage visualisation. The dual nature of this work supports engagement with wider audiences, fostering and broadening debate at individual, institutional, academic and societal levels about the nature and role of heritage.