With the program CIIIC: Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition, we aim to increase the capacity to realize immersive experiences, and empower the industry and its creators to capitalize on opportunities. But what are we really talking about? In this series, we dive into inspiring case studies.
In recent years, the discourse surrounding looted art has intensified. Looted art are artworks or cultural artifacts that were taken or acquired unlawfully, often in times of conflict, war, or colonization. The term is commonly associated with art that was stolen or forcibly removed from its rightful owners during historical events. The Mauritshuis invited guest curators and creative leads Eline Jongsma and Kel O'Neill to create an exhibition on this topic that includes three new VR experiences conceived and directed by the creative team. Why did they use VR to educate visitors about this topic?
The exhibition is called ‘Loot - 10 stories’ and addresses the challenges museums face with stolen art. It invites visitors to put on a VR headset and contemplate some ethical dilemmas. As they come eye-to-eye with a stolen Rembrandt, some questions may arise: What should be done with these objects, and does retaining them in a museum implicate complicity in looting?
Jongsma + O’Neill developed the framing and storytelling for this exhibition, with research support from other curators and art historians. They emphasize the value of early involvement of creatives in projects of this nature. O’Neill notes, "Including creatives early on is extremely valuable, as we can identify weaknesses and collaborate to address them." Reflecting on their journey, Jongsma remarks, “Exploring new storytelling techniques is ingrained in our creative practice. When we started working together a long time ago, we made online videos for a TV show. As a medium, back then that was fairly new. We loved to explore this, and we still do. Now there’s immersive techniques (we started with this around 2014 or so) and we are drawn to this as well.”
In recent years, museums and institutions have become more proactive in investigating the provenance of their collections, working to identify and return artworks that may have been looted. This is often a complex process that involves legal, ethical, and historical considerations. O’Neill acknowledges the sensitivity of the topic “This topic of course is terrifying to work with for every museum”.
As the lines between digital and physical blur, will the purpose of a museum at some point be redefined as well?
Utilizing VR, the exhibition strives to bring viewers into its narrative while challenging the conventional museum context. Objects on display, such as the Balinese dagger, provoke contemplation on the transformative journey from functional item to museum artifact. Viewers are challenged to think about this: What will happen next, if we consider it’s life longer than ours. Jongsma highlights the role of VR, “The techniques we are using allow us to add subjectivity to the story. Giving a personal touch to the exploration of this sensitive subject.”
O’Neill explains, “In the exhibition we want visitors to think about what museums are and can be. Right now there is a call for restitution all around the world, and at the same time we see a rise of digital technologies, showing art in a way that can be accurate to the detail of a grain of sand. As the lines between the digital and the physical are blurring, will the purpose of a museum at some point be redefined?”
But why did the creative duo choose to use VR to tell this story?
Jongsma explains: “There’s a practical reason; museums are in a tough spot, they are in a competitive landscape with various media at the moment. The same goes for cinemas. VR could be a different way to get people into your gallery. It’s an experience. Many people wouldn’t dare to use a VR headset at home yet, it’s still quite novel in that sense. And of course there are also many reasons on a storytelling level to use immersive techniques. They can transport you to a different world and allow you to time travel — who wouldn’t be intrigued by that?”
Read more about ‘Loot - 10 stories’ here, you can visit the exhibition until the 7th of January at the Mauritshuis.
Stay up to date on more content about Immersive Experiences and CIIIC by subscribing to the newsletter.
