One can only imagine what Vincent van Gogh would have made of the blockbuster experience created to honour his work and life that opened on Thursday in Festival Square, Edinburgh.
Visitors to the immersive and kaleidoscopic Van Gogh Alive will not only be surrounded by projections of his paintings, but they will get a feel for what his bedroom was like and a vivid sense of the world in which he lived. Visitors will be able to smell some of the natural fragrances Van Gogh would have experienced while living in the south of France.
The first room in the 150,000 sq ft premises is traditional enough, providing some context about the life of the Dutch post-impressionist, who created some of the world’s most recognisable pictures. Visitors move through to a 3D interpretation of The Bedroom, his painting of the room he occupied in Arles in the south of France.
There’s the narrow wooden bed, a side table on which sits his toiletries, a simple chair, a mock-up of his window and his hat hanging on a peg.
“This room was very humble, and you get a real insight into what he saw, what was around him, and where he slept at night,” says Dan Flynn, the project manager of Van Gogh Alive. “You can even sit on his bedside chair.”
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From Van Gogh’s bedroom you enter the main gallery, which takes you on a chronological journey through Van Gogh’s life and work. More than 3,000 images are projected across a dozen or so screens at different angles, as well as on the floor. Using Sensory4 multimedia technology many of his most famous paintings, including Starry Night Over the Rhône, Almond Blossom, Wheatfield with Crows and several self-portraits, are lit up to ceiling height, with dynamic elements making you feel as though you’re inside the painter’s reality.
Adding to the immersive sense of it all, scents like those that surrounded Van Gogh while he created these works of art are diffused into the room. These include cypress, cedar, sandalwood, nutmeg, lemon and cardamom. All of this is set to a classical score that works in time with the projected images.
“This gallery also features quotes from some of his letters, as well as other information that allows you to really understand Van Gogh and how he struggled through life,” Flynn says.
The show in this main gallery is on a loop that’s about 45 minutes long, but visitors are allowed to stay for longer if they wish. Flynn says: “People can sit down, walk around or even lie down if they want.”
The next space, which has been one of the most popular elements of this show on its world tour (so far, it has been seen by eight million people in 75 cities), is the Sunflower room. Thanks to projections and mirrors, it feels as though you’re surrounded by the flowers that so inspired this extraordinary artist, who took his own life in 1890 after suffering from years of mental illness.
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The tour ends in an area where you can learn how to produce your own work in the style of Van Gogh.
Bookable sessions for Van Gogh Alive begin every half hour and no more than 125 people are allowed in the space at any one time. Visitors tend to stay for between 60 and 90 minutes, but you can be fairly certain this experience will stay with you long after you leave.
To July 17, Festival Square, Edinburgh; vangoghaliveuk.com
What else to do this weekend
Hippodrome Silent Film Festival
The final weekend of Hippfest, which celebrates old films with live music in Scotland’s oldest purpose-built cinema, includes a screening tomorrow of L’Homme du Large, with live narration by Paul McGann, and John Sweeney on piano and Frank Bockius on percussion.
Until tomorrow, Hippodrome Cinema, Bo’ness; hippodromecinema.co.uk
Glasgow International Comedy Festival
This weekend’s acts include panel show favourite Lou Sanders (below, tonight), and the American-Scottish magic specialist Jerry Sadowitz (tomorrow).
Until March 27, various venues, Glasgow; glasgowcomedyfestival.com
Nitin Sawhney
The Mercury-nominated songwriter, composer, DJ (and more) presents a live show performance of Immigrants, his album which gives a voice to the dispossessed.
Tomorrow, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
