Artist Who Was on Ukraine's Front Lines Makes VR Version of War With Russia

A Dutch artist has found a way to let people into the frontlines of the war between Ukraine and Russia, as the fighting intensifies.

Dani Ploeger traveled to Ukraine several times in recent years as tensions remained high in the country after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

A veteran activist and artist, he was no stranger to living in conflict zones and decided to try to reflect the "suspense" of war.

Ploeger created the work called Line of Contact and used Virtual Reality (VR) technology to help bring attention to an "aspect of warfare" that is often not understood or even imagined, he told Newsweek.

Using a loop of soldiers standing around waiting, or smoking cigarettes as they sit in trenches, Ploeger gives the audience an image of war that is the opposite of what is often portrayed on the news or in movies.

"Whereas most representations of armed conflicts tend to focus on eventful activity - spectacle, if you like - Line of Contact evolves around the often static situations of waiting and suspense that actually occur more frequently than combat situations," Ploeger explained to Newsweek.

The artist is no stranger to conflict situations having lived in the Occupied Palestinian city of Ramallah.

"Most of the time there would be no visible violent action. However, at any point something could happen. And it usually did, but you never knew when," he described.

"Time appeared to be a process of suspense, a constant awaiting for eruptions of physical violence."

In Line of Contact users put on a VR headset and headphones, and then they are asked to close their eyes and just listen before surveying the 360 degree landscape.

They will hear the sounds of warfare, including gunshots, and then when they open their eyes, be shocked to experience the juxtaposed images of men in military uniforms waiting idly.

"What struck me here was the sense of suspense that seemed to permeate everyday life, also because of the many soldiers who were in town preparing for – or returning from – the frontline," Ploeger said.

He decided to use VR technology because there is an "expectation of a spectacle" for the audience" or as he puts it: "They see these headsets and tend to think, 'oh something really exciting is about to happen'."

But the reality of what they see is the complete opposite and thus, Line of Contact juxtaposes the "expectations of VR technology."

The artists then further complicates the experience by asking the viewer to close their eyes "and a violent war soundscape erupts," which lines up more with people's expectations of not only a war, but the VR medium as well.

To make the "violent soundscape," Ploeger used field recordings of actual weapons used in the Russo-Ukrainian war at that time.

He also let Newsweek in on another layer of the piece, revealing the line of soldiers in the video were all looped individually, "so the situation appears spontaneous but endless."

The viewer can then turn around and come face to face with Ploeger, finally revealing that the audience's point of view was from "inside" a camera all along.

"This VR experience is not trying to conceal its virtuality," Ploeger added.

Fighting has been going on between Ukraine and Russia since the latter annexed Crimea, but an escalated conflict started in February, when the latter invaded its neighbor.

Since then almost 30,000 people have been killed and 14 million people displaced from their homes.

The latest from the frontline has seen Russia continue its aerial assault on Ukraine, targeting key infrastructure and causing widespread power outages.

This follows an explosion on the bridge that connects Russia and Crimea. Russia labeled it a "terrorist attack" and subsequently arrested eight people in connection with the explosion.

Line of Contact is available to see as part of the London Film Festival Expanded program.