A dark corridor, sometimes lit with bright red and yellow flowers, leads a person like an abyss. It lights up within a few seconds. There is something calming about this; You want to reach up and touch it. And with that touch another wall full of life comes alive.

In TeamLab’s Borderless, an immersive art experience that recently opened in a large space in Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills, a digital canvas creates an enclosed space. Its purpose is to increase the possibilities of human perception. At Hyderabad’s HITEX Exhibition Center and until March at Chennai’s Express Avenue Mall, the almond blossoms of Van Gogh’s masterpiece of the same name fell slowly, albeit literally, enveloping the audience in the warm embrace of the artist’s famous blues.

This is art that goes beyond the physical space of pristine white cube galleries and ebony frames. With technological support, experiential art exhibits make art accessible by simply being visually stunning.

For experienced art connoisseurs, this is an opportunity to see their favorite artwork from a different perspective and sometimes even participate in it. On the other hand, for beginners, it makes an otherwise indecipherable piece of fine art understandable. As far as the content creator crowd is concerned (yes, they are a large percentage of the target audience), it’s a treasure trove of visually appealing content for social media.

A classic example in India is the famous reclusive Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room, which has now become a permanent exhibition at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center (NMACC), Mumbai. Hundreds of LED lights hang from different heights in a mirror-paneled room, providing a distorted perspective including one’s own reflection.

“Internationally renowned and visually captivating, exhibitions like the Infinity Mirrored Room immediately appeal to experienced connoisseurs of art as well as visitors who may not have previously known about it. A representative from NMACC says, “Kusama’s work is the perfect example of how a piece of art, whatever the motivation or circumstances for engaging with it, can transport someone to a whole new universe.” Kusama is considered a pioneer of immersive art, having created such imaginary worlds as early as the 1960s.

Van Gogh 360 or The Real Immersive Van Gogh Experience – two separate exhibitions currently traveling around the world based on the work of the popular Post-Impressionist, in the hopes that it will provide an intuitive gateway into the artist’s psyche Will happen, especially for ignorant people.

Sharan John, founder of Silly Fellows, who recently brought the experience to Chennai and Hyderabad, says, “Despite there being multiple narratives, the main focal point is Van Gogh’s development as an artist, his unique technique and the individuality within each Has emotional depth. 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, Dubai Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

without restraint

At NMAAC, for Run As Slow As You Can, an absurdist exhibition conceived by Italian creative studio and image-based magazine Toiletpaper, people were connected to VR experience pods that took them on a virtual boat to different thematic sections of the exhibition. Went. “Don’t forget Oracle, an interactive application that was part of the showcase, or the widely Instagrammed bathtub of plastic bananas, which delighted audiences of all ages,” says the NMAAC representative.

The endless possibilities of the digital medium are perhaps the greatest attraction for creators of experiential art. “Digital technology enables intricate detail and freedom of change,” says Takashi Kudo of the international art collective TeamLab, which operates at the confluence of art, science, technology, and the natural world. Through art, artists, programmers, engineers , an interdisciplinary group of experts including 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, as if the world was born out of frustration. To prove a point against the isolation faced by digital artists across the fine art crowd.

“Before people started accepting digital technology, information and artistic expression had to be presented in some physical form. For most of human history creative expression has existed through static media, often using physical objects such as canvas and paint. The advent of digital technology allows human expression to be freed from these physical constraints, allowing it to exist and evolve freely,” says Takashi over a video call from Tokyo.

He says that although technology is the core of his work, it is not the most important part. It is still just a material or tool for making art. Despite being clearly discerning about the technology it uses, TeamLab is insisting on putting art at the heart of all its digital activities. A TeamLab Borderless Museum is currently under construction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, their first project in West Asia.

“We are obsessed with the delivery of what we are trying to communicate,” Sharan says of the Van Gogh experience. He says the priority is always about the experience, and not about presenting something that will attract the masses. And so, the display that took 20 days to install in Chennai was refined to 22,000 lumens [measurement of projector brightness] Projection to elevate the experience. “The differentiator is the lumens of the projector and its resolution. Accordingly, the scale changes. The music and content also varies from city to city and curation has always been a priority. We are trying to set a new global standard,” he added.

Visitors to the Real Immersive Van Gogh Experience in Chennai, India Photo Courtesy: Shantanu Krishnan

call of the unknown

The fascination with the unknown and the natural curiosity about the future world is a sure reason for the fascination of audiences across the world. AYA Universe, one of the most popular digital museums in the UAE today, has a similar approach to TeamLab, where different iterations of digital art take you on an abstract, experiential journey. Here, familiar or understandable art is left behind, and the focus is on the possibilities of deeper digital art and spatial exploration.

Kathleen Nikki Fernando, Marketing Manager of AYA Universe, says, “When we saw the influx of entertainment attractions in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region, we thought it was time we offered something that was digital Be suitable for the world.”

The exhibition has collaborated with over 1,800 social media influencers to date, and has 6,000 Google reviews. 75% of their visitors are international tourists with Indians being the largest subgroup in terms of nationality. “85% expressed interest in coming back again,” says Kathleen.

Spread across 12 experience zones, AYA, which opens in December 2022, strives to tell a story. It traces a journey into a beautiful world, moving towards the future. Its purpose is to encourage people to step out of the real world and into a different universe. Initially they were expecting a specific audience. But now it is one of the most popular family attractions in Dubai for tourists and locals alike.

Home is a building where people live: Walk as Slow as You Can Inside, an immersive exhibition at NMACC, Mumbai

“We were expecting to see a Gen Z audience, but over time, we realized that kids often come in large groups with their families. This inspired us to start a program for schools as well. It’s also a content creator’s paradise,” says Kathleen. The sheer number of social media partners AYA has worked with is testament to this. Serving content creators also means instant, widespread visibility, says Kathleen.

At NMACC, Indian contemporary art is now in the spotlight with Liminal Gaps: a three-dimensional depiction that blurs the rules of architecture. It features a floating universe of identical clocks and “an installation that follows one” Alice in Wonderland-style adventure, in a liminal space that feels like it’s inside a computer game. Spread across four floors of the centre, it is on display until June 9. This is only the beginning: “You can expect to see many examples of technology-meets-art in the center’s future exhibits,” says an NMACC representative.

Clearly, deep art is here to stay.

These imaginary scenes are no longer confined to one’s dreams as art finds new mediums to reach wider audiences. It extends beyond its limits and welcomes everyone into its limitless world. And, perhaps, this is its greatest victory.