On display in the exhibition is a dazzling array of priceless Qing-Dynasty paintings and artifacts with digital enhancements to offer an immersive, participatory art experience for a better insight into life and art in ancient China. With the opening scheduled for October 18th, the exhibition is on view until February 12th, 2019 at River City Bangkok’s second-floor RCB Galleria.
The exhibition celebrates River City Bangkok’s 33rdanniversary and its positioning as Thailand’s largest hub for art and antiques. “This first-of-its-kind exhibition will showcase valuable ancient art pieces in a new light through the use of modern multimedia technology as the medium. The installations use high-tech innovation to create an immersive virtual and augmented reality experience where the audience can step into the paintings rather than just viewing them from afar,” said Ms. Linda Cheng, Managing Director of River City Bangkok.
The National Palace Museum (Gu Gong) is home to the world’s largest collection of Chinese artifacts totaling nearly 700,000 pieces. The art exhibition – staged for the first time in Southeast Asia – features digital works inspired by hand-scroll paintings titled “Up the River During Qingming”. These hand-scrolls created during the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, depict scenes of prosperity along the banks of the Bian River in Kaifeng, the Northern Song capital. The exhibition features the finest of all the scrolls from the “Up the River During Qingming” collection from the Qing Dynasty. A digitized version of this painting is on display as a multimedia artwork, or a painting animation, with moving figures.
The exhibition signifies a dialogue between the modern Chao Phraya River and the ancient Bian River, and the coming together of two great rivers cultures. For this exhibition, the iconic “rainbow bridge” from “Up the River During Qingming” symbolizes this meaningful collaboration between River City Bangkok and the National Palace Museum (Gu Gong).
The exhibition is divided into 8 zones of installations as follows.
“Up the River During Qingming Painting Animation” depicts everyday scenes of prosperity in China in the twilight years of the Qing Dynasty including wedding, outdoor theatre, a bustling market, and a runaway pig. The installation provides a multifaceted narrative of life in that era. “Roaming Through Fantasy Land” is inspired by the original work by Zhao Mengfu, a late Song and early Yuan Dynasty painter, called “Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains.” It is a virtual reality adaptation depicting the painting’s scenery. This immersive VR experience will transport the viewer into a virtual fantasyland where one can roam through Jinan Province.
“Marvels in the Sea Immersive Interactive Theater”, an interactive theatre, presents an immersive ancient marine experience where the audience can hear roaring waves and feel the swirling of the underwater currents. This multi-user interactive installation will allow the audience to interact with the exhibit using a fishing light in a comfortable reclining position.
“Summer Lotus”, inspired by the “Lotuses in the Wind at Taiye” by Feng Ta-yu in the Song Dynasty, is an interactive virtual sensory installation presenting a scene of summer lotuses in a pond decorated with charming details depicted by the painter. The installation allows the audience to experience the virtual interaction with the atmosphere of life in a Chinese summer, hundreds of years ago. “Castiglione’s Virtual Flowers”, an augmented reality installation conceived by Professor Jeffrey Shaw, brings to life Giuseppe Castiglione’s still-life masterpieces “Gathering of Auspicious” and “Vase of Flowers” as life-size virtual 3D illusions.
“A Hundred Horses Co-Creative Installation”, another installation inspired by Giuseppe Castiglione’s masterpiece, adheres to the principles of co-creation. This enables the audience to color their own horse drawings, which will be uploaded onto a virtual landscape. Viewers can experience the beauty of timeas the present and the past run in parallel.
“The Heavenly Spirit of Calligraphy” is a film starting with six methods regarding the rules of Chinese character formation, demonstrating the splendid structure and forms of unique and beautiful Chinese words. The audience can experience the building up of layers of which demonstrates the writing process in this vivid video. The zone is a veritable visual feast that provides the viewer with a fascinating art experience and knowledge.
“Galaxy Adventure of NPM Guardians” features the 15th-century Vietnamese Monkey King, Western Han Dynasty Pottery Pig, and Tang Dynasty Madam Tang (Pottery Figure of Lady Playing Polo). They will take you through the adventures in the Galaxy on the Miniature Olive Stone Boat.
And don’t miss the range of special activities to be held over the four-month period of the exhibition. There’s, among other activities, a calligraphy workshop. What’s truly special is customers who hold the tickets to the exhibition “Up the River during Qingming” at River City Bangkok, or who plan to take part in the exhibition’s tie-in fun activities, have a chance to win big prizes by posting their photos taken in the exhibition with the hashtag #NPMxRCB.
Prizes up for grabs include a return air ticket to Taiwan and a complimentary ticket for the magnificent National Palace Museum. For more information, visit River City Bangkok’s Facebook fan page.
“Up the River During Qingming” is on view from October 18th to February 12th, 2019, at River City Bangkok’s second-floor RCB Galleria. Tickets areavailable at THB 350 per adult with special rates available for children, students, and family groups. Tickets are available from www.thaiticketmajor.com. For more information, call River City Bangkok at (+66) 2 237 0077-8, or visit http://www.rivercitybangkok.com .
