“I dream of painting and then I paint my dream.”

– Vincent Willem van Gogh

Since I was a kid, I am already intrigued with the life of the Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh, whose works are among the world’s most expensive paintings to have ever sold, suffered from mentail illness which led him to committing suicide. An Australian company, Grande Exhibitions, has paid a tribute to the famed painter by creating Van Gogh Alive, a multi-sensory exhibit on his life and works. According to the company’s website, their focus is on refreshing the way exhibitions of art, science and culture are being enjoyed by visitors around the world by pioneering and introducing advanced technology, multi-sensory and multi-media immersion, interactivity and clever storytelling to engage audiences more deeply.

The exhibit uses a system developed by Grande Exhibitions called SENSORY4™ which combines multichannel motion graphics, cinema quality surround sound and up to 40 high-definition projectors in transforming the exhibition space into a dynamic, informative and visually spectacular experience. So when I saw on a TV news that the exhibit will come to Manila, I was so excited to go and see it. The exhibit ran from October 26 to December 8 at the 4th Floor, One Bonifacio High Street, 28th Street corner 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

I asked my highschool classmate to go with me at the exhibit and we agreed to go there on November 9th. She brought her husband and son, and unluckily, the tickets for that day were all sold out. We decided to buy a ticket for its November 24th run and just go to another museum on that day. For a 1-hour exhibit show, the PhP750 ticket is quite expensive but still, a lot of people were so keen on seeing it. Anyway, that day came and we were so excited to see the exhibit.

Once we entered the dark, empty room, we were told to sit somewhere we can soak in all of the fanciful display. As the music starts and the images started showing, the exhibit wants us to interpret the thoughts, feelings and mental state of van Gogh during his time in his homeland Netherlands, Paris, Arles, Saint Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise, the locations where he created many of his timeless masterpieces. More than 3,000 van Gogh images were projected on the walls at enormous scale synchronized with a powerful classical score. The music complemented the highs and lows, the calmness and the angst in the life and artworks of the artist during the period of 1880 to 1890.

His works were shown in hyper-fine detail, with special attention to key features which allowed us time to study the colors and techniques he used for every piece of his artworks. Real life photographs were also augmented in the display to demonstrate his sources of inspiration.

The 45-minute long multi-sensory display allowed us to immerse entirely in the vibrant colors and vivid details that constitute van Gogh’s life as a person and as an artist. As van Gogh became one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art without him knowing, he would also have never imagined that his works will be displayed in a grandiose and ultra-creative manner.

“Now I understand what you tried to say to me

And how you suffered for your sanity

And how you tried to set them free

They would not listen, they did not know how

Perhaps they’ll listen now.”

– Don McLean, “Vincent“