One of the things I've always loved about visiting art galleries is their atmosphere of peace and calm. It's the perfect setting for quiet contemplation – but of course it's a completely artificial environment, and that got creative agency Flying Object thinking. We're accustomed to looking at pictures in silent, top-lit galleries, but how does that affect the way we see them? And might we experience pictures in a different way if they were shown in different environments?
From 26 August to 20 September we have a chance to find out at Tate Britain, where Flying Object and its creative collaborators have taken four 20th century British paintings from the collection and redisplayed them in an intensely multi-sensory setting. Visitors to 'Tate Sensorium', as the installation is called, will have all their senses tweaked and twiddled with while looking at the paintings, using haptics for touch, bespoke perfumes for smell, directional audio for hearing and special chocolates – developed by master chocolatier Paul A Young – for taste. Medical wristbands, meanwhile, will measure what effect the experience has on skin conductivity and heart rate.
The four paintings on show are David Bomberg's In the Hold, 1913–14; Francis Bacon's Figure in a Landscape, 1945; John Latham's Full Stop, 1961; and Richard Hamilton's influential Interior II, 1964.
'Tate Sensorium' is the winner of this year's £70,000 IK Prize, awarded each year to the project that best helps the public to explore and discover the Tate's collections using innovative technology. The prize is named after the late Tesco heiress Irene Kreitman, who was not only a major patron of the arts but was also, despite being one of the richest women in Britain, a volunteer room guide at Tate Britain for more than 25 years.
The installation will have all their senses tweaked and twiddled with while looking at the paintings, using haptics for touch, bespoke perfumes for smell, directional audio for hearing and special chocolates for taste. Pictured: Flying Object.
'Tate Sensorium' is the winner of this year's £70,000 IK Prize, awarded each year to the project that best helps the public to explore and discover the Tate's collections using innovative technology. Pictured: Flying Object.
Full Stop, by John Latham, 1961.
In the Hold, by David Bomberg, c.1913–14.
Interior II, by Richard Hamilton, 1964.
Figure in a Landscape, by Francis Bacon, 1945.
ADDRESS
Tate Britain
Millbank
London SW1P 4RG
-
The Barbican as muse: composer Shiva Feshareki on bringing the brutalist icon to life through musicFor the last two years, British-Iranian experimental composer and turntablist Shiva Feshareki has been drawing on the Barbican’s hidden history as a gateway for her new piece. She talks to Wallpaper* about her Brutalist muse
-
London's coolest design-led coffee shops for your Fashion Week fixCoffee shops are the heart of London’s neighbourhoods, discover those fusing speciality beans and stylish interiors for the perfect brew
-
Martine Rose’s first gallery show celebrates the radical queer energy of Bronski BeatTaking place at Sadie Coles over London Fashion Week, ‘Everything Must Change’ centres on a 2016 short film by menswear designer Martine Rose and image-maker Sharna Osborne starring Bronski Beat frontman Jimmy Somerville
-
From activism and capitalism to club culture and subculture, a new exhibition offers a snapshot of 1980s BritainThe turbulence of a colourful decade, as seen through the lens of a diverse community of photographers, collectives and publications, is on show at Tate Britain until May 2025
-
Jasleen Kaur wins the Turner Prize 2024Jasleen Kaur has won the Turner Prize 2024, recognised for her work which reflects upon everyday objects
-
'You survive with grace': Alvaro Barrington at the Tate BritainAlvaro Barrington considers Black culture with Grace installed in Tate Britain’s Duveen Galleries
-
‘Women in Revolt!’ at Tate Britain is a deliciously angry tour de force of feminist art‘Women in Revolt!’ puts feminist art from 1970 – 1990 under the spotlight at Tate Britain
-
Cornelia Parker’s major Tate Britain survey explores British fragilityAt Tate Britain, Cornelia Parker’s first London survey show dissects politics and history and reframes everyday life
-
Turner Prize 2020 bursary winners announcedTen artists have been selected to win this year's historic Turner Bursaries
-
Frank Bowling cements his status as a modern master with Tate Britain retrospectiveAfter six decades, the British artist is finally getting his dues as a gently dazzling survey of his paintings opens in London
-
The darkness of photojournalist Don McCullin explored in Tate Britain retrospectiveThe iconic British war photographer reveals the personal toll his photographs have taken as a major survey spanning his six decade-long career opens in London
