I AM crossing a pretty wooden bridge, picture-postcard perfect. Water lilies bob gently on the still water under my feet and sun-dappled foliage and flowers stretch down from somewhere high above me.
Pinks and mauves and cornflower blues bathe the scene in soft hues; a butterfly is close enough to catch. Almost. I float on, even though I want to stop and marvel a while at this other-worldly Garden of Eden unfolding before me.
An Exit door suddenly pops up and I must pass through to the other side and so I keep moving, powerless to stop. And then it is over. I whip off the VR headset and am fully back in reality – a very non-flowery room in Carlisle Memorial Church, Belfast – after a surreal journey from France to London to Venice via the new immersive exhibit celebrating the life and times of artist, Claude Monet (1840-1926).
The French founder of Impressionism is the latest iconic figure to be brought to life digitally by Exhibition Hub and its live-entertainment discovery tech partner, Fever, and in addition to the thrilling VR experience which brings you right into the heart and soul of famous paintings such as Water-Lilies, Impression, Sunrise, Poppies and The Artist's Garden at Giverny, there is a large-scale immersive art exhibit in the main hall, as well as traditional exhibition in the space outside the main event.
Organisers have also helped create the tone with the construction of an actual bridge (with flowers which change colour thanks to clever lighting wizardry), creating an atmospheric introduction to the great artist, not to mention a great photo opportunity for Instagrammers.
The exhibition venue itself is also worth a mention with Claude Monet: The Immersive Experience perfectly at home in one of Belfast's most historic buildings, Carlisle Memorial Church, completed in 1875 as James Carlisle's memorial to his children and gift to his adopted city.
Designed by noted architect WH Lynn, and built in Gothic Revival style, it became known as the Methodist Cathedral, which at one time was home to one of the largest Methodist congregations of Belfast.
Carlisle Memorial Church had ceased to be a place of worship by the early 1980s and is today run by the Belfast Buildings Trust charity for a range of engagement activities and public events – including the successful Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, which opened in November 2022.
"After such an overwhelmingly positive response to our Van Gogh exhibit, we knew we had to bring Monet: The Immersive Experience to Belfast," enthused Mario Iacampo, CEO and creative director of Exhibition Hub, ahead of the launch at the end of June.
"We can't wait for residents and visitors alike to experience Monet's incredible works in 360-degree digital surround accompanied by a soaring orchestral score."
Certainly, the music adds something significant to the emotive effect. Sitting in a deckchair in the spacious, two-storey exhibition hall, gazing up at Monet's paintings swirling and changing, one impression morphing magically into the next on the surrounding four walls, you do feel a closer sense of connection to the artist – and gain a small glimpse into the man behind the impressionist brushstrokes.
In addition to the large-scale, floor-to-ceiling projections – often with moving trains, rippling water or falling snowflakes for special effect – there is lots to read about Monet, his personal life and the landscape that inspired him, on mounted boards in the area outside the hall, making the immersive journey through his art a smoother, more meaningful one.
But whatever was happening in his life or however his style changed over the years, the artist's intent was always to capture light, not necessarily the object in front of him, using pure primary colours alongside complementary ones.
He painted 'en plein air', using small, quick touches, "kind of small commas on the canvas", creating brave new effects with rapid brush strokes and broken colour.
A game-changer of his day, you get the feeling Monet, perhaps more than any other artist, would have appreciated this bright, light-infused, fast-moving high-tech display of his paintings in an old disused church in modern-day Belfast, 2023.
:: Claude Monet: The Immersive Experience continues at Carlisle Memorial Church, Carlisle Circus, Belfast. Tickets and details at feverup.com
