The Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, Canada, has unveiled its new online exhibition 'On Canadian Ground: Stories of Footwear in Early Canada'. Hosted by the Virtual Museum of Canada, the site [http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Ground] will feature the largest display of 3-D photography in an online exhibition to date. The site chronicles the history of early Canadian footwear with the help of Advanced Visualisation Technologies (AVT) which allows users to 'handle' the artefacts for the very first time. Through AVT, a photography-based apparatus takes digital images of an object and translates the information into a 3-D photograph. The ultra-high resolution 3-D images allow users to then zoom-in on artefacts and view them from every angle, revealing details that remain unseen in a traditional exhibition. For example, one rare artefact included in the site is a shoe excavated by Park's Canada Underwater Archaeology from a French vessel that sank in 1759 in the Gulf of the St Lawrence. Upon first glance, the image seems rather simplistic. Only when users zoom-in on the shoe's gleaming gold-toned buckle, contrasted against the mottled and uneven surface of the leather, or rotate the image to reveal the shoe's thin, worn sole can they begin to unravel its complex history. 'We are pleased to use our 3-D images to enhance the upcoming exhibition On Canadian Ground', explained Mike Betts, president of AVT, the company responsible for creating the revolutionary 3-D images. 'This is an opportunity to enrich the presentation of the Bata Shoe Museum's world-class collection of footwear using our unique technology'. Beginning with kamiks, traditional leather boots handmade by the Inuit, and concluding with the Industrial Age, when machines phased out the cobbler's role, On Canadian Ground touches on the cultures, climates, geography and history that have shaped Canadians and their footwear. In addition to the 15 3-D photographs on display in On Canadian Groung, the exhibition features a wealth of artefacts and artworks, many from the Bata Shoe Museum's private collection. 'The Museum is proud to present its first virtual exhibition', said Emanuele Lepri, the Museum's Director. 'We are eager to increase our international audience and outreach by way of the exhibition's bilingual presentation and user-friendly design.' The exhibition marks the Museum's first foray into online curation to date, making its collection accessible to a worldwide audience. The Bata Shoe Museum gratefully acknowledges the financial support given by the Deparment of Canadian Heritage in the creation of this online presentation for the Virtual Museum of Canada. Currently offering 172 online exhibitions, the Virtual Museum of Canada acts as an interactive tool with endless applications.
