A NEW CANVAS

As artists abandon easels for multidisciplinary immersive art, is the future of art going to look a lot like living inside a painting?

- PRATIKSHA ACHARYA

" I could lie down here and stare at this forever," says someone out loud at the Van Gogh 360° experience.

We are inside a makeshift tent in Cuffe Parade's World Trade Center. After having been showcased in cities across the world, the immersive art exhibition finally made its way to India in early 2024. Tickets sold like hot cakes, for everyone wanted to see Van Gogh's work come to life on a macro level.

Even ones who didn't know of the Dutch Master, wanted in on it. After all, it was being touted as one of those big-ticket experiences that was only on display for a limited amount of time.

As Starry Night melted away into Wheatfield of Crows for the thousandth time, more people poured into the tent, looking for a place to lie down, rest against, and be a part of Van Gogh's landscape for an hour or so. Was it hypnotic?

To a certain extent, if your view wasn't marred by the flash going off for the umpteenth time as people took the perfect picture for the 'gram.