A shadowy corridor, occasionally lit by radiant red and yellow flowers, leads to what appears to be an abyss. Lights up within seconds. There’s something calming about it; you want to reach out and touch it. Thanks to this touch, another wall full of life comes to life.
In TeamLab’s Borderless, an immersive art experience that recently opened to massive crowds in Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills, a digital canvas creates an enclosed space. It is intended to expand the possibilities of human perception. Closer to home, at the HITEX exhibition center in Hyderabad and, until March, at the Express Avenue mall in Chennai, the almond blossoms from Van Gogh’s masterpiece of the same name fell gently, albeit virtually, enveloping the audience in the heated embrace of the celebrated blues artist.
It is an art that transcends the physical space of pristine galleries of white cubes and ebony frames. With technological support, experiential art exhibits make art accessible simply by looking stunning.
A truly immersive Van Gogh experience in India | Photo credit: SHANTANU KRISHNAN
For seasoned art connoisseurs, it is an opportunity to see their favorite works of art from a different perspective, and sometimes even take part in them. On the other hand, for novices, it makes an otherwise illegible work of art understandable. As for the host of content creators (yes, they make up a vast percentage of your target audience), it’s simply a treasure trove of visually appealing content for social media.
A classic example in India is the Infinity Mirrored Room by the celebrated reclusive Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, which has now become a constant exhibition at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center in Mumbai (NMACC). In a room lined with mirrors, there are hundreds of LED lights suspended at various heights, giving a skewed perspective of reflections, including your own.
“An exhibition such as Infinity Mirrored Room, known around the world and visually captivating, immediately attracts experienced art connoisseurs, as well as audiences who may not have known about it before. Kusama’s work is a perfect example of how a work of art, regardless of the motivation and circumstances in which it was created, can introduce a person to a completely up-to-date universe,” says the NMACC representative. Kusama is considered a pioneer of immersive art, creating such fantastic worlds as early as the 1960s.
Van Gogh 360 or The Real Immersive Van Gogh Experience – two different exhibitions currently traveling around the world based on the work of the popular Post-Impressionist, hope to provide a seamless entry into the artist’s psyche, especially for the uninitiated.
Sharan John, founder of Silly Fellows, who recently brought the experience to Chennai and Hyderabad, says, “Even though there are multiple narratives, the main point continues to be Van Gogh’s evolution as an artist, his unique techniques and the emotional depth of each one. piece. The exhibition also serves as an educational platform, providing insight into the artist’s work, his life and the historical context of his masterpieces.”
One of the 12 experience rooms at AYA Universe in Dubai | Photo source: special solution
No restraint
At NMAAC, as part of Run As Sluggish As You Can, an absurdist exhibition dreamed up by the Italian original studio and image magazine Toiletpaper, people were addicted to VR pods that transported them in a virtual boat through various thematic sections of the exhibition. “We cannot forget about the interactive Oracle application, which was part of the presentation, or the plastic banana bathtub, widely commented on Instagram, which delighted audiences of all ages,” adds the NMAAC representative.
The endless possibilities of the digital medium are perhaps the greatest attraction for creators of experimental art. “Digital technology enables the creation of intricate details and the freedom to change,” says Takashi Kudo from the international art collective TeamLab, which works at the intersection of art, science, technology and the natural world. Through art, an interdisciplinary group of specialists including artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians and architects explore the relationship between themselves and the world. Today, they are one of the leading players in the immersive digital art space. The collective was born out of frustration and anxiety, as if to prove that it aims to counter the alienation that digital artists around the world face from the fine art crowd.
“Before people began to embrace digital technology, information and artistic expression had to be presented in some physical form. For most of human history, original expression occurred through stagnant media, often using physical objects such as canvas and paint. The advent of digital technology allows human expression to break free from these physical constraints, allowing it to exist independently and evolve freely,” adds Takashi during a video call from Tokyo.
He says that while technology is core to their work, it is not the most crucial part of it. It’s still just a material or tool for creating art. While TeamLab is admittedly tactful about the technology it uses, it places an emphasis on keeping art at the heart of all their digital activities. The TeamLab Borderless Museum is currently under construction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, making it the first project in West Asia.
“We are obsessed with conveying what we want to convey,” says Sharan of Van Gogh’s experience. He says the priority is always the experience, not coming up with something that will appeal to the masses. And so the display, which took 20 days to set up in Chennai, was upgraded to 22,000 lumens [measurement of projector brightness] projection that elevates the experience. “The differentiators are the projector’s lumens and its resolution. Therefore, the scale changes. Music and content also vary from city to city, and curation has always been a priority. We are trying to set a up-to-date global standard, he adds.
Guests on a truly immersive Van Gogh experience in Chennai, India | Photo credit: SHANTANU KRISHNAN
The call of the unknown
The fascination with the unknown and natural curiosity about the futuristic world are undoubtedly the reasons why the film attracts viewers around the world. AYA Universe, one of the most popular digital museums in the UAE today, takes a similar approach to teamLab, where different versions of digital art take one on an abstract journey full of experiences. Here, known or decipherable art takes a back seat and the focus is on immersive digital art and opportunities for spatial exploration.
“When we saw the influx of entertainment experiences in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region, we thought it was high time to offer something that fits the digital world,” says Kathleen Nikki Fernando, marketing manager at AYA Universe.
The exhibition has worked with over 1,800 social media influencers so far and has 6,000 reviews on Google. 75% of visitors are foreign tourists, of which Indians constitute the largest subgroup in terms of nationality. “85% are willing to visit again,” adds Kathleen.
Opening in December 2022, AYA, spread across 12 experience zones, attempts to tell a story. It is a journey into the future, a lovely world. The idea is to encourage people to go beyond the real world and move to another universe. Initially, they expected a niche audience. However, it is now one of Dubai’s most popular family attractions – among tourists and locals alike.
A house is a building in which people live: the interior of Run As Sluggish as You Can, an immersive exhibition at NMACC, Mumbai
“We expected a Generation Z audience, but over time we realized that children came with their families, often in vast groups. This prompted us to launch a program also for schools. It is also a paradise for content creators,” adds Kathleen. This is evidenced by the sheer number of social media collaborators AYA has worked with. Serving content creators also means quick and broader visibility, Kathleen adds.
Back at NMACC, Indian contemporary art took center stage with Liminal Gaps: a three-dimensional drawing that blurs the rules of architecture. It contains a temporal universe of identical clocks and an “installation that follows Alice in Wonderlanda liminal-style adventure that feels like you’re in a video game.” Arranged on four floors of the Center, they can be viewed until June 9. This is just the beginning: “You can expect many examples of combining technology with art in the Center’s future exhibitions,” says the NMACC representative.
Apparently, immersive art is here to stay.
These fantastic scenes are no longer confined to dreams as art finds up-to-date media to reach a wider audience. It transcends the niche, welcoming everyone into its limitless world. And this may be his biggest win.
