Van Gogh's world of emotional whirlwind, creative vertigo and immortal grandeur in London, UK

I had the pleasure of experiencing Van Gogh's Immersive Experience in London on December 28th, 2022.

Vincent Van Gogh, the 19th-century Dutch painter who severed his ear and then took his own life, is a name familiar even to those with a cursory grasp of art history.

Both his artwork (particularly Sunflowers and Starry Night) and his manic episodes have made him famous and infamous. He created a vast body of work in just ten years, totaling 2,100 artworks, 860 of which were oil paintings. Many of these were produced with frenetic passion in his final two years of life.

There are almost two hundred of Van Gogh's most vivid, expressive, and dramatic paintings on display at the Van Gogh Immersive Experience, such as Starry Night and Sunflowers, and a cool film that demonstrates all the different colour palettes the post-impressionist used when painting Sunflowers.

This exhibition allows visitors to stroll into Van Gogh's tortured psyche and experience the world through his colorblind perspective; his story is heartbreaking.

The effect is similar to walking inside a picture. You get to sit in a deck chair and see 360-degree, nearly holographic projections of his hectic existence as it evolves in sync with Vivaldi's four seasons. VanGoghisms such as "I feel that there is nothing more authentically creative than to love people" and "I dream of painting, and then I paint my dream" are presented in the show as if they were a continuous thought process for the artist.

This is my first encounter with immersive art, so I can't say for sure if they're all put up in the same way. In this scenario, you can break it down into three sections. At the outset, there is a "setting the scene" segment meant to inform. Although there are some visual aids (such as a video and a life-size replica of Van Gogh's bedroom), the focus is on imparting knowledge.

Our understanding of Van Gogh deepens as we gain insight into his biography, artistic process, and subject matter. We attribute events in his life to settings in his artwork. The article touches on his relationship to the history of art and, more specifically, Japanese painting. And we learn the truth about how Van Gogh's work was received during and after his lifetime.

The curator's voice is rather prominent; I had my doubts about the assertion that Van Gogh was totally colorblind, for example. I did some research and found that there is considerable disagreement about this; nonetheless, it is not a proven fact. My niece was with me, and we both agreed that it was a fantastic tale. But I think you're playing to the crowd; this isn't the place for a sophisticated debate of opposing arguments. They hope to have a good time here. It's practically beside the point what they might learn.

picture credit : Anshuja Ninawe

The second section is a 10-minute-long VR experience. VIP tickets already contain it, while regular tickets can purchase it for £5. That wasn't something we experienced.

I'm assuming the excitement is mutual. We also had fun in an adjacent art studio where you could colour (or recolor) your own rendition of a Van Gogh masterpiece or simply let your imagination run wild. That's a really cool thing to do.

To sum up, this is a must-do that will give you a priceless glimpse into the life of the legendary Van Gogh. As an artist, I felt a deeper affinity for Van Gogh's milieu.

A whirlwind of ups and downs, a dizzying ride on the Starry Night huge wheel, a plunge into the void, an absinthe session with the Green Fairy is just mindblowing.

Awarded best 2021 immersive experience by USA Today. Ranked among the 12 best immersive experiences in the world by CNN.

Strongly suggested.