ArtScience Museum is celebrating the launch of its new permanent VR Gallery, which opens on 10 July, with a display of virtual reality artworks by some of the world’s most renowned artists, museums and film festivals.
Equipped with state-of-the-art virtual reality VR headsets and controllers, the VR Gallery invites visitors to encounter unique immersive experiences from international art stars, Olafur Eliasson, Marina Abramović, and Anish Kapoor through three interactive VR art pieces.
“Our new VR Gallery at Level 4 is one of the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, and will present a rolling programme of cutting-edge virtual reality works by artists, filmmakers and scientists,” said Honor Harger, Executive Director of ArtScience Museum, Marina Bay Sands.
Hyperrealities
Hyperrealities is the program that is headlining the launch of the new permanent VR Gallery. It brings visitors on an exhilarating journey as they explore topics such as nature, climate change and the human body through the perspective of the minds of artists of Olafur Eliasson, Marina Abramović and Anish Kapoor.
Rainbow
Rainbow is Olafur Eliasson’s first virtual reality artwork that is a delightful, multisensory treat that allows viewers to explore perceptions of light and colour by virtually drenching themselves in falling showers, listen to the gentle trickle of water, and admire colourful prisms of light.
Rising
Marina Abramović is a pioneer of performance art. In Rising, she interconnects art with activism in a virtual reality artwork that communicates the terrifying effects of climate change on sea levels.
Using the VR headset, viewers enter an intimate virtual space and are invited to interact with the artist as the water level rises. Rising urges viewers to reconsider their impact on the world around them, where seemingly simple decisions can mean life or death.
Into Yourself, Fall
Into Yourself, Fall is Anish Kapoor’s first VR artwork. It takes viewers on a journey through the human body, inviting them to experience the sensation of falling into oneself via a VR headset.
With a soundtrack created by the artist’s son, Ishan Kapoor, the artwork invites visitors to lose themselves in another realm. Into Yourself, Fall simulates the disorientating experience of vertigo during a celebration of the labyrinthian, majestic inner workings of the self.
Expanded Realities At ArtScience Museum
To further delve into the topics and art pieces in the Hyperrealities program, Daniel Birnbaum, Artistic Director of Acute Art, will give an online presentation exploring the expanding role that virtual, augmented and mixed reality are playing in visual art. Birnbaum’s talk will be live-streamed on ArtScience Museum’s Facebook and YouTube channels on 27 July 2021, 8 pm, as part of the talk series, Expanded Realities.
Getting Tickets To Hyperrealities at ArtScience Museum’s New Permanent VR Gallery
Tickets to the permanent VR Gallery and new exhibits are available for purchase from 1 July at all Marina Bay Sands box offices and website. More information can be found at the site here.
