Beijing's First Foray Into Virtual Reality Art
By Noelle Mateer
Our
first impression of virtual reality art: it’s creepy as hell. Put on
the headset and you’re in another world – or in the case of artist
Christian Lemmerz’s latest VR piece, face-to-face with a burning, golden
crucifix, where Jesus’ deformed body crackles with embers like a
wildfire.
Beijing’s first virtual reality art exhibition is not
for the faint of heart. But it is a one-of-a-kind experience. Or as some
call it: the future.
Here’s how it works. Walk into Faurschou
Foundation Beijing (just across from that weird North Korean gallery in
798 Art District) and you’ll enter a high-ceilinged white hall, cordoned
off into smaller, equally minimalist sections. These are the viewing
rooms, which give you enough space to walk around in the virtual world
you’re about to enter. An attendant will help you put on the headset,
and then you’re elsewhere – far, far away from the quiet gallery in
Beijing.
Each
month, Faurschou is showing a different VR artwork. The exhibition is
in collaboration with the Faurschou Foundation’s studio in Copenhagen
and the creative company Khora Contemporary, which has worked with the
artists to produce these exhibits. While this month’s pieces have
already been shown in Denmark, Beijingers have something special to look
forward to – the world debut of VR art by acclaimed Chinese artist Yu
Hong, in January.
Some works run for three minutes; others are
infinite. In some instances, viewers will be given handle bars that
enable them to interact with the piece. In others, they just watch,
mesmerized.
Perhaps the strangest part of the whole experience is
its ending – when we remove our headsets and re-enter the sterile,
ultra-plain ambiance of the gallery. For a moment, the real world feels
like the one that’s fake.
This month: Erik Parker (Oct 1-27) and Paul McCarthy (Oct 29-Nov 24); Future months: Tony Oursler (Nov 26-Jan 5) and Yu Hong (Jan 7-Feb 3); Free admission; Tue-Sun, 10am-6pm; Faurschou Foundation, 798 Art District, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang 朝阳区酒仙桥路2号798艺术区 (5978 9316)
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