Arts & Attractions
Review
Celebrate Vincent Van Gogh inside Melbourne’s awe-inspiring digital gallery The Lume
The magic of 'Van Gogh' at The Lume Melbourne awaits...
We’ve read about it, we’ve even written about it (you can read that here) – but nothing can quite prepare you for the awe and wonder that awaits you inside The Lume Melbourne’s first ever multi-sensory digital art experience – Van Gogh.
As soon as you step through The Lume’s archway, you are transported to somewhere else entirely. Music fills your ears, scents wrap around you, and it is here, in the foyer, where your journey begins.
In The Lume’s entry hall is where you’ll find information on all of the artworks you are about to experience. Unlike the art galleries you might be used to, where every piece of art is paired with a plaque filled with information, inside The Lume’s art space there is no room for that (more on that later).
Instead, here you make your way around the room – reading about Vincent Van Gogh the artist, and soaking in a brief timeline of his works, and the meaning and inspirations behind them – from The Starry Night, to Almond Blossom, and Self-Portrait to Sunflowers.
Before making your way into the main gallery, you can truly begin your voyage into Van Gogh’s world by literally stepping inside one of his most popular paintings – and one of Van Gogh’s personal favourites – Vincent’s Bedroom In Arles. Taken from the canvas and brought to life in 3D, you can move around Van Gogh’s room, sit in his chair or on his bed, see the self-portraits he inserted into his works – and experience the world from his perspective.
If you thought the real-life recreation of Vincent’s Bedroom In Arles was enough to transport you, wait until you step inside the gallery space itself. Here, every surface comes to life with a constantly moving and ever-revolving selection of Vincent Van Gogh’s works.
Whether you find a comfortable spot against a wall, on the floor, or you perch yourself on The Lume’s balcony – every vantage point gets you up close and personal with these incredible works of art. And the best part is, there is no need to rush, you can slowly move through the space enjoying different viewpoints or find the most comfortable spot and stay there. The choice is yours, and either way you won’t miss a thing.
It is hard to put the scale of The Lume’s projections into words, but when combined with the symphony of soundscapes and evocative aromas, it is easy to be swept inside of it as you’re taken on a multi-sensory tour of the Netherlands, Paris, Arles, Saint Rémy, and Auvers-sur-Oise. We can give you the numbers – the space is 3000 square metres, the walls 11 metres high featuring 150 state-of-the-art projectors, but not even that can do it justice.
The gallery’s every surface becomes an animated canvas. Not a wall, screen, or centimetre of floor is wasted – all of it belongs to Van Gogh’s art and his artistic vision, and in a way so do you, as you become a part of the projections around, above, and below you.
At one moment you’re inside Van Gogh’s majestic Starry Night Over The Rhone – the waters of the river glistening – the next minute his self-portraits are in full view standing 30 feet tall, soon it is Rain, Auvers that surrounds you, lashings of rain beating down around the room.
That isn’t it though, no your Van Gogh experience at The Lume is still evolving. Make sure you save some time, and some room in your stomach, to truly experience the splendour of the vividly recreated Terrace Café 1888. Take a trip to nineteenth-century France as you take a seat at one of the café’s tables, soaking in the gallery’s projections and enjoying a carefully curated menu that not only celebrates the singularity of the Dutch master’s paintings, but also pays homage to his Dutch heritage and to France, his adopted creative home.
From there, take a stroll through the mirrored infinity room filled with hundreds upon hundreds of sunflowers – perfect for a photo pit stop – before sitting in front of a canvas and stopping by for a quick art lesson, giving you your own little piece of art to take home.
When he was painstakingly creating each of these works in 19th Century Europe, Van Gogh couldn’t possibly have imagined that his works would go on to tell his story for hundreds of years to come, let alone that they’d be re-imagined in such a unique setting.
The Lume have truly created a magical, multi-sensory world that pays tribute to and celebrates the works of one of the world’s greatest artists Vincent Van Gogh in a way his art truly deserves.
But you can’t wholly understand the true magic and wonder of it unless you experience it yourself.
So what are you waiting for?
The LUME Melbourne’s inaugural experience, the multi-sensory Vincent Van Gogh exhibition, is now open at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.com.au.
