Step inside a painting, travel in VR pods: Here’s how immersive technology is changing the global art world

Art meets technology in these immersive experiences making art less intimidating and more accessible

A dark corridor, occasionally illumined by bright red and yellow flowers, leads one to what seems like an abyss. It lights up in seconds. There is something calming about it; you want to reach up and touch it. And with that touch comes alive another wall full of life.

At teamLab’s Borderless, an immersive art experience that recently opened to huge numbers in Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills, a digital canvas makes up an enclosed space. It is meant to stretch the possibilities of human perception. Closer home in Hyderabad’s HITEX Exhibition Centre and until March in Chennai’s Express Avenue mall, almond blossoms from Van Gogh’s masterpiece of the same name fell softly, albeit virtually, enveloping audiences 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 aid in tow, experiential art exhibits make art accessible simply by being visually stunning.  

For seasoned art connoisseurs, this is an opportunity to see their favorite artwork from a different perspective, and sometimes even participate in it. For novices on the other hand, this makes an otherwise indecipherable piece of fine art comprehensible. As for the content creator crowd (yes, they form a large per cent of the target audience), it is simply a treasure trove of visually appealing content for social media. 

A classic example in India is the famously reclusive Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room, which has now become a permanent exhibit at Mumbai’s Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC). A mirror-panelled room houses hundreds of LED lights suspended from varying heights, lending a warped perspective of reflections including one’s own.

“Both internationally famous and visually captivating, an exhibit such as Infinity Mirrored Room holds instant appeal for seasoned connoisseurs of art as well the audience who may not have previously known about it. Kusama’s work is the perfect example of how a piece of art, whatever the motivation or circumstances for engaging with it, can usher one into an all-new universe,” says a representative of NMACC. Kusama is considered a pioneer of immersive art, creating such fantastical worlds as early as the 1960s. 

The Van Gogh 360 or The Real Immersive Van Gogh Experience — two different exhibits currently traveling the world hinged on the popular post-Impressionist’s work, hope to be a seamless entryway to the artist’s psyche especially for the uninitiated.