‘Unveiled Echoes’ revives the story of Dug’s Dive with augmented virtual reality

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When museum visitors scan the Community Folk Art Center (CFAC)’s latest exhibit with a mobile phone, the art comes to life onscreen. “Unveiled Echoes” digs into the stories of “Dug’s Dive” bar on the Erie Canal in Buffalo, NY. The people in each piece move and noises from the bar echo from every device.

“The second layer of the app and augmented reality and how each piece has a story just really brings you into that period of history,” said CFAC Coordinator Alexia Carr. “You’re able to visualize what was going on.”

Artist Jalen Law’s exhibit is an augmented virtual reality exhibit about a dive bar from the 1860s owned by William Douglas, a man believed to be a former slave. The exhibit is at the CFAC until March 16, and will then go on tour until its final stop in Buffalo.

Law incorporated digital components by bringing both noise and movement into each piece. The life of each work is unlocked when someone uses the CFAC app, available via a QR code at the exhibit.

Using the app, visitors can scan the piece and begin to hear sounds from the bar and see the characters move. Additionally, a narrator shares detailed context so one can understand the history of the dive bar.

“This really puts (you) into this almost three to four-layer experience that reconnects you to history and reconnects you to people who actually existed,” Law said.

Law took inspiration from 200 articles published throughout the period to piece together the importance of the bar. Douglas’ story highlights the different social, political and cultural stories of the time, like an 1863 race riot in Buffalo caused by racial and class tensions during the Civil War.

“The microcosm of these experiences are a reflection of the macrocosm of what’s going on in the United States during this time of the split between the Civil War and the revolutions that are coming up out of this,” Law said.

Law spent seven years sifting through the articles to create the final product. Photography didn’t exist at the time, so Law had to figure out what the Dug’s Dive and its patrons looked like, Law said.

He found himself carefully deliberating about how to create a concise story from the information he gathered. He had help from various central New York historians and librarians to help streamline the story.

The dive bar is no longer visible because new developments have been built on top of it, Law said. There’s no signage or recognition of its former spot along the canal. By telling this story, Law is giving a platform to Dug’s Dive, he said.

“(Douglas) provided a sanctuary for a lot of black people because of violence like the riot in Buffalo, New York on the waterfront,” CFAC executive director Tanisha Jackson said. “It really demonstrates a community and history that I think is forgotten.”

Law’s approach is unique because he sees himself as a documentarian by making social, cultural and political commentary through art.

“I am using the vehicle of the paintbrush or the pencil or the stylus pen as my camera to document that subject matter,” Law said.

Law believes sometimes it feels like there is a “degree of separation” between someone who learns history and the reality of that history. Learning about history by opening a textbook gives viewers the feeling of the history not being real, Law said.

He didn’t expect how real the exhibit became for people, but he’s excited to continue to witness others engage with the exhibit.

“I got to see the amazement, but also got to see the fear because of how realistically these people are blinking and moving their heads,” Law said.

The sensory aspects of the exhibit help tell the story of Dug’s Dive in a more real way by allowing visitors to actually view the people who were patrons or employees and see their behavior. It’s the first time CFAC has had an exhibit with an augmented reality aspect, Jackson said.

“I think it also answers people who are fascinated with technology and so and it just adds to the conversation,” Jackson said. “I see a lot of people just really excited to try it out. And then from there, just engage with art in ways that they may never have before.”