CHENNAI : Called the cultural capital of the country, Namma Chennai misses no opportunity to bring new exposures and create artistic avenues. Setting global standards, the city is introducing the citizens to immersive experiences — an enveloped setting that lights up the senses and contorts reality, transporting the viewers to a realm surrounded by and perceived to be in an environment painted by an artist.
Captivating Chennaiites is The Real Van Gogh Immersive Experience, aimed “to bring out the emotion in people while they’re looking at the painting and also the emotion of the artist while he was creating it,” says Jay Punjabi, partner, The Real Van Gogh Immersive Experience. He adds that the whole idea of creating such an experience is for people to see the artist beyond his popular works, to evoke the feeling of wanting to know about him because, for his life as an artist, there’s a lot to connect with him. And the youngsters seem to have understood the assignment.
Sea of emotions
Practising painting herself, Adishree Trinetra, a software engineer, says, “I feel calm and want to spend more time than the allotted 30 minutes. As a painter, it is fascinating to watch all this. I read his story and I understood that you need not be in the right mind to be an artist.” The exhibit also captures the curiosity of people who do not have an artistic background. “It changed my perspective about art in general. I was not really into art and artists, but being engulfed in Van Gogh’s paintings after getting to know about his life which he dedicated to art is appreciative,” says Vijay Tamilarasan, a software engineer.
“I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process,” said Vincent Van Gogh, a significant artist in Western art history. This quote runs through the screens of the 360-degree view on the five walls of the Immersive Experience room, where a 36-minute reel is played on a loop, displaying 70-odd paintings. “We worked with 264 of his paintings. The display is a mix of different paintings. In a certain animation, there would be at least 10 self-portraits, which are counted as each painting, because that is his process,” shares Jay.
Fourteen projectors focusing on the display walls enhance the feeling of being inside the painting rather than just seeing a video like a movie. The animation of Van Gogh’s paintings, put together by Lee, goes through a narrative to bring out the emotions of people and make them understand what the artist was going through when he was creating these paintings. “I have studied a bit about how he did what he did at 27. Despite his persistence in his work, he never became successful until he died. If he was alive, he would have loved to be here,” says Dakshayani, a production analyst.
Beyond art and display
If this Dutch, colourblind artist brought colours to life, the organisers brought his paintings to reality. To intensify the participation, the animation is accompanied by Mitch de Klein’s music. “Brilliant light works with soothing music truly transport one into his universe. His masterpiece ‘The Starry Night’ was the highlight of the show. An artist like him needs to be celebrated,” says Nivethaa Mathavan, a doctor.
Even the music speaks to the audience here when the subtle sound of raindrops when ‘The Bridge in the Rain’ is displayed. “To witness a surreal 360-degree show accompanied by uplifting music and to immerse in Van Gogh’s little world was a sweet escape from reality. This exhibit was a one-of-a-kind experience,” expresses Varushni Padmanabhan, a business analyst.
The takeaway
To enter the immersive experience room, people must go through three other rooms — the Welcome Room, Education Room, and Infinity Room. The Education Room holds digital boards giving a brief about the life led by the artist. The Infinity Room has the much-sought-after ‘The Starry Night’ displayed with crystal lighting. Sharing her experience, Aarcha S Puthran, a student, says “The show made me admire his work from a new perspective. When we walked past the pretty lights, the wait to watch my favourite work, ‘The Starry Night’ was worth it.”
Spread across 16,000 sq ft, the team worked for 15-odd days to set up the venue and approximately nine months in research and production. Appreciating the efforts of the organisers, Prithvinath, a student, says, “It was innovative that they put up something like this in the city. Little did I expect that things would be this. I thought wall paintings of the artist would be hung but the 3D art, the room, and the lights were good. It was very relaxing.”
The exhibition sees an audience of varied age groups. Some come with their partners to propose a wedding, to get inspired, to understand that life is beyond the hurdles, to sit with their laptops and work, to click aesthetic pictures for the gram, to find a corner and doze off with the soothing music in the background, and some people come to absorb all of it and live in a different world for a little while. Beyond this, the organisers — Sharan John, Nikhil Chinapa and Jay Punjabi — want people to visit the exhibition to know that while the artist struggled in his personal life, he created masterpieces with limited resources. “There are times when you don’t get rewarded and you tend to lose yourself in that moment, but life is beyond such moments,” shares Jay as he signs off.