Buckle in. You’re in for one hell of a ride.
This month I have mostly been visiting VR and immersive experience of Ancient Egypt.
Egypt of the Pharaohs
Egypt of the Pharaohs (L’Egypt des Pharoahs) at the L’Atelier des Lumieres in Paris, takes visitors back in time to the Golden Age of the Earth.
The atelier is a former steel foundry which was turned into an immersive art gallery in 2018. Set in Paris’ historically revolutionary 11th arrondissement, it has specialized in turning impressionist art into large scale light shows. A format that has been easily transported elsewhere.
Egypt of the Pharaohs takes iconic ancient Egyptian artworks such as paintings from tombs, objects from Tutankhamun and the large temples and pyramids and synchronizes them against a high energy playlist (Philip Glass, Aida, Led Zeppelin). It is an impressive experience which powerfully (re)introduces you to the masterpieces of Egyptian art.
It is best to approach it as an art show, but historical information is provided in an easily accessible steel drum in the middle of the space. The artwork also hints at the social background of the artwork. Laborers are shown dragging the massive and carefully chiseled blocks of stone to create the pyramids. Today when many people believe that ancient Aliens traveled across the stars to build perfectly formed blocks of stone on random planets, protected from various interstellar viruses only by glugging on space bleach, this feels like a revolutionary stance.
The ancient section of the show is twinned with a lightshow reimagining the ‘Orientalist’ paintings of Jean Domique Ingres, Jean-Leon Gerome and Jean Discart who created imaginative paintings of an alluring and sensual orient.
I am not sure how I feel about this. We enter the atelier to gaze on a spectacle and what a sight! The show contextualizes the civilisation of ancient Egypt within the discovery by eighteenth century Europeans. Ancient Egypt was never forgotten by Europeans, or medieval and modern Egyptians. Yet the ‘discovery’ of ancient Egypt took place within the parameters of imperial violence that destroyed lives and led to the colonial appropriation of archaeology. Museums and galleries in the West have a responsibility to discuss this.
Admittedly it’s harder to do this as part of a light show, but a great start would have been to include more modern and contemporary Egyptian artists. I would love to have seen Maha Maamoun’s brilliant artistic exploration of the pyramids in Egyptian film for example.
Nevertheless, this is a beautiful show.
The Horizon of Khufu
The Horizon of Khufu, is a VR experience. Like Egypt of the Pharaohs you enter a large space, but you wear head goggles so it’s more of an intimate experience.
I visited the experience in Stratford shopping center. It would be churlish to call it a cultural and intellectual wasteland at the moment, but within the next few years Stratford should become an important cultural center with the introduction of the London College of Fashion, BBC Orchestra, V&A and Saddlers Wells urban dance studios.
The experience lasts 40 minutes. You travel into the Great pyramid of Giza (aka the Pyramid of Khufu) with a tour guide. Without giving away the plot, there is a strong storyline and structure to the experience, which combined with impressive visuals creates an overall impressive experience.
As someone interested in the technology (I did my MA Dissertation on it) I have done a lot of VR experiences, but this felt the closest to the sense of ‘being there’ I have yet had. You get a sense of the size of things. At points I am sure I felt momentum, which must have been in my head. During your experience, you walk around the space.
The experience is set in modern day Egypt. You can see the city of Cairo and coaches traveling to the site. The narrators explain the importance of the pyramids to modern Egyptians. It also offers you a chance to visit normally inaccessible spaces like the Queen’s chamber.
It was created in collaboration between 3D artists (Excurio: Immersive Expeditions) and Egyptologists (led by Peter De Manuelian). It aims at that most challenging genre of ‘edutainment’ (educational entertainment) and succeeds.
A high impact show, I recommend a visit.
Rhakotis 