AFTER much anticipation, the Beyond Van Gogh Immersive Experience has made its UK premiere at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool with a gala opening held on Wednesday evening.
The exhibit takes the form of a virtual gallery, in which over 300 of Van Gogh’s works are displayed in a constantly changing sequence of projections, which are mapped onto every surface of the space.
That’s 1½ times the number of paintings that you would see if you were to visit the largest museum of the artist’s work in the world, and you would have to do a lot of travelling to see everything on display in this extraordinary show.
Immersive is certainly the word for it. Entering the ‘gallery’, visitors first pass through a maze of frames and screens that tell the story of Vincent’s short and troubled life and career, before stepping into the main room, where it is possible to feel that you could drown in the wash of light and colour. Accompanied by a specially created soundtrack, the paintings grow, merge and morph into and out of one-another. Sometimes the walls become a blank canvas on which the images are almost literally sketched out and painted before our eyes, occasionally seeming to come to life. Ultra-high resolution reproductions of the artwork are presented super-sized around us, and blended together by seamless animations.
All the most famous images are there, alongside many others that you would really have to go hunting the archives for. From the vividness of Starry Night to the pastel hues of Almond Blossom, and from character studies like The Potato Eaters to his collection of many self-portraits, we are cascaded through the breadth of styles and subjects that Van Gogh explored.
What is especially striking, as well as the sheer volume of his output, is the way in which he applied paint. The way that the work is presented gives us a real sense of the paintings being something that is created in front of our eyes and is very much alive, rather than just sitting quietly to be stared at. Particularly poignant are the self portraits, and a clever montage of countless versions of the artist’s signature, which brings a strange melancholy to the experience.
The sheer scale of the project is extraordinary and, while it is a very different experience to visiting a traditional gallery, it is a must-see for anyone interested in Van Gogh’s work.
The exhibit has already been visited by more than five million people across the US, Canada and South America, but on the announcement of its UK premiere here in Liverpool it has met with unprecedented demand, with many sessions already sold out and its run already extended.
Beyond Van Gogh is open daily at Exhibition Centre Liverpool until 24th July from 10:00am to 8:00pm Sunday to Friday and from 9:00am to 8:00pm on Saturdays, with a limited capacity yoga session every Saturday morning. Timed entry tickets are available at 15 minute intervals and there are reduced prices for children under 13, over 65s, students and NHS workers.
The exhibit will also open in Glasgow in July and Birmingham in August.
Review by Nigel Smith
