Signals & Stats

Off the canvas

By Alex Jordan 14 : 08 : 2015 Tate Sensorium : Flying Object : Tom Pursey

London – The Tate gallery’s latest exhibition uses touch, taste and sound to go beyond the paint.

Sensorium is a series of immersive experiences based on the works of four artists, including John Latham’s Full Stop
‘Each experience adds a sense of scale and roundness to the art’ – Tom Pursey, co-founder of Flying Object

Interior II by Richard Hamilton,1964 at Tate Sensorium created by Flying Object, London

In the Hold by David Bomberg,1913–4 at Tate Sensorium created by Flying Object, London

Full Stop by John Latham, 1961 at Tate Sensorium by Flying Object, London

Sensorium, the brainchild of creative agency Flying Object, brings together audio specialists, scent experts, a chocolatier and an interactive theatre maker in four immersive displays featuring paintings from the Tate collection.

The exhibition invites visitors to experience the artworks through touchless haptics, bespoke scents and craft chocolate to elicit new reactions and inter-sensory associations with the work.

Throughout the show, visitors will be asked to wear Empatica’s E4 medical-grade electrodermal sensors, revealing each person’s instinctive reaction to every experience. At the end of the exhibition, this information will be fed back to each visitor, along with a recommendation of which exhibitions they might also enjoy, breathing new life into existing collections.

The Big Picture: Museums and galleries are shedding their stuffy image, moving out of the archives and using bold new collaborations and technology to create enthralling experiences. Find out more with our Museum Market report.