MANILA, Philippines – Before the first projector was installed and the first song was played, there was a lot being said about Van Gogh Alive: The Experience, a “multi-sensory” exhibit of the famed painter’s life and work.

There was talk about the mainstreaming of Vincent Van Gogh (who rose to fame posthumously in the 1900s), the gatekeeping of art, and how onlookers should (or should not) act around exhibits. Talk has since died down but only in time for the “experience” to finally open at the One Bonifacio High Street Mall, a shopping center located in a posh district of Taguig City.

The experience is meant to help you “forget traditions of tiptoeing through unnervingly silent galleries and viewing paintings from afar.” It’s a mix of old and new – Van Gogh’s selected work is experienced through SENSORY4, a system that mixes motion graphics, surround sound, and high-definition projectors.

The idea, in a way, is to immerse in an artist’s work – literally, even. 

Once you arrive at the 4th floor of the mall, there’s  branded kiosk that greets both ticket-buyers and those who bought during the pre-selling phase.

Immediately before the experience itself is an antechamber that explains what Van Gogh Alive is about, who Van Gogh is, and information on several of his select work. There’s also an interactive display of Vincent’s Bedroom in Arles – painted based on his memory while confined at the asylum in Saint-Remy. By interactive, of course, we mean you can explore the tiny space and, yes, take photos.

The anteroom is a nice touch – it prepares you both emotionally and intellectually for the experience itself. Because what good is flooding one’s self in artwork for a premium price when you don’t even know the basics?

The experience itself both underwhelms and overwhelms. Unlike the edition in Paris, the video is projected only onto the walls surrounding and cutting across the space. Don’t expect high-definition projections across the tall ceilings and the floor.

Yet as a whole, the experience was a nice one.

The classical scoring complements both the rage and calm in Van Gogh’s life and art. The experience starts with Van Gogh’s homeland, the Netherlands, then moves on to Paris, Arles, Saint-Remy, and finally, to Auvers-sur-Oise.

The best “scenes” (I use the term quite loosely) are when Starry Night over the Rhone and Starry Night flood the walls as Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Le carnaval des animaux, No. 7: Aquarium” envelops the room.

Memorable, too, are the scenes featuring his love of the color yellow (as pointed out by the exhibit) and slides of his self-portraits.

The point, after all, is to go through Van Gogh’s journey – both as a person and an artist.

At P750 (for adults) and P450 (for children and students), experiencing Van Gogh in the most 2019 way possible is not cheap. A ticket gives you one-and-a-half hour slot, meaning you can watch the 45-minute display at least twice. Unlike the media preview, crowd sizes during paid visits are controlled – only a certain number of visitors are allowed to enter at any given time.

While Manila, regrettably, doesn’t get the same Instagram-worthy spectacle other iterations have, Van Gogh Alive is still nothing to scoff at.

If you’re going, find a bench to park yourself in (we would recommend the floor, if that’s allowed) and take your time in soaking in all of the fanciful display. If you want to take photos with the display – no judgment, take all the photos you want! – stick to solid colored outfits (white, if you so dare) so the colors pop and those posts get all the likes you want. 

But make it a point to put your phone down (at least during your first 45 minutes of your experience) and wonder at how Van Gogh himself would never have imagined that one day, his work would be displayed at all – all the more in this grand and ambitious manner. – Rappler.com

Note: The writer visited the Van Gogh Alive experience during the media preview, at no cost. All opinions here, however, are her own.

Van Gogh Alive: The Experience runs from October 26 to December 8 in Manila. It can be found at the 4th Floor, One Bonifacio High Street, 28th Street corner 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Tickets are limited but can be purchased via The Mind Museum.