[title]
January is a famously and notably miserable time of year. All the weather of December but not of the yuletide joy, all the daylight of February but none of the romance. A new pop-up immersive art experience is promising to fix all that though: The Observatory will take place from Jan 6-31 and is billing itself as a ‘space for art and wellness’.
The Observatory features two artworks: the first one (called ‘Harmony 2.0’ by We Are Midnight) is a digital well for six participants to gather around while wearing headsets that interpret their brainwaves. The organisers say that ‘the more participants achieve a state of calm, the more vividly their collective thoughts shape a stunning visual masterpiece in the well’s surface’. Pretty liberal use of the word masterpiece, there.
The second artwork, ‘Soul Paint’ by Sarah Ticho (Hatsumi) and Niki Smit (Monobanda), is a virtual reality experience intended to help viewers ‘explore their emotions and sensations through body mapping, 3D drawing, and movement’.
The whole thing is in aid of mental health charity CALM, and it’s totally free (though donations to CALM are encouraged). Immersive art for a good cause, and it won’t cost you a penny, it’s a January miracle.
The Observatory is open Jan 6-31. 56 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N. Free. More details here.
Want more art? Here are the top 10 exhibitions in London.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.