Dubai’s newest attraction, the Infinity des Lumières, is where you’ll experience the world’s greatest paintings in an incredibly immersive way, without a canvas in sight. It’s a space that has taken on the works of Vincent Van Gogh, letting visitors step straight into ‘Starry Night’. It brings his and other famous works to life from floor to ceiling with elements of color, sound and light using projectors, animations and more. Here’s a guide to visiting.
HOW TO GET THERE
Via the Dubai Mall. The closest parking would be either the Grand Parking or the Cinema Parking. The venue is located on Level 2 right opposite the Galaries Lafayette department store. Once you walk in, there’s a counter where you can purchase your tickets on-site, or scan your online ticket to enter. There’s also a waiting area should you arrive earlier that your scheduled entry time. Please note that there are free of charge lockers available for visitors so if you’ve done some serious Dubai Mall shopping before your visit, you can store them safely there while you wander around the exhibition.
THE EXPERIENCE
Imagine yourself walking into a room. Everything inside is art. All the walls, floor, and ceiling. They’ve transformed the more traditional art we see in galleries and museums into an immersive and animated experience.
The main exhibition is dedicated to Vincent Van Gogh, whose work is found in galleries all over the world where you often have to stand in line to get a photo or a selfie with. Well here you can pretty much swim in his work. The projections move and the images shift from his self-portraits to other famous paintings of his like the Sunflowers, or the Potato Eaters. The scale and the effect of being inside Van Gogh’s work is just mind-blowing. Your eyes don’t rest. They’ve got benches where you can sit to watch the 35 minutes show. There’s fantastic music that’s playing in the background and so it really does replace the stricter museum etiquette which is usually quieter in comparison and where the art is usually guarded. It’s a more relaxed vibe filled with music and lounging. You look down and you have half of ‘Starry Night’ on your body. This kind of digital art was also featured in the recent Netflix movie Emily in Paris, which apparently fueled this frenzy for immersive Van Gogh experiences.
The second exhibition that’s also played there is called Dreamed Japan, also tied to Van Gogh because he was fascinated with Japanese art like many other artists and became an enthusiastic collector, telling his brother Theo in one of his letters that he had ‘hundreds’ of prints. There was this craze for Japanese art and design that swept France in the 1850s when Japan reopened trade with the West after having been closed for over 200 years. The French term ‘Japonisme’ was coined referring to the huge admiration for all things Japanese in the 19th century which consequently had a huge impact on Western style and design. So at the exhibition, you see these incredible animations of sea creatures, lanterns in the sky, geishas, and samurai warriors. The music for this is entirely different and matches the background. They use this incredibly fast rhythm of Japanese drumming. The Dreamed Japan exhibition is approximately 20 minutes in duration.
The third practically hidden exhibition is called Verse. At the end of the room near the stairs, there’s a doorway that leads you into a room that takes you on a journey beyond the skies. Here you’ll experience infinity as it relates to our galaxy with changing images of the magical beauty and harmonious movement of the cosmos. This immersive exploration of celestial structures inspires you to dream about what has yet to be discovered in our world. The Verse exhibition is approximately 20 minutes in duration.
There is also a special surprise, a small enclosed Mirror Room within the gallery where images are reflected and refracted. Perfect spot to snap a photo.
Verdict: The art and its animation is breathtaking and very moving. The selection of music played is so precise and beautiful, perfectly fitting with every brushstroke.
Website: www.infinitylumieres.com. Operating hours are from 10AM to 9PM from Sundays to Wednesdays and from 10AM to 11PM from Thursdays to Saturdays. Ticket prices are 125 AED for adults, and 75 AED for children (from 3 to 13 years old). Duration of visit: 1 hour and 15 minutes. Note: There are no cafés or bathrooms on-site. Visitors should use the facilities in the mall before entering.