“Exploring new ways of seeing and experiencing the human body” is the intent behind Omer Gaash’s ‘Nude Texture’ exhibition. A trip to Shoreditch Art Club in London affirmed this statement, as I visited the exhibition in December 2023. The one-night event reflected artist Gaash’s multidisciplinary nature as he aims to explore how the human body interacts with various settings, areas, and spaces. Incorporating multi-sensory elements, the event included video art, performances, and DJ sets. The event description noted how the “surreal and mesmerising work invited viewers into an immersive experience”.
Omer described his project:
“Project Nude Texture is an artistic endeavour that utilizes textures composed of photographs of the human body in the nude. The project aims to challenge societal taboos surrounding nudity and promote the celebration of the human form”
Omer Ga’ash
Seeing Versus Experiencing Art
We all ‘experience’ art. Whether that involves the traditional viewing context of the art gallery, or experiencing a digital art experience, we step into the world of the artist and the gallery owner. Yet, when an exhibition produces a multi-sensory environment such as ‘Nude Textures’, it could be argued we move from simply ‘viewing’ art to participating. As standing in front of a photo or painting is no longer enough, exhibitions and galleries in the contemporary landscape are moving towards performance and installation pieces. The utilization of digital technologies within the art sector can be seen to fulfil the public’s need for a participatory experience rather than a passive experience of watching.
From watching the various images captured on a cinema screen to the visual projection of 3D screens and the use of movement from performers, it seemed the exhibition left no element discarded. In comparison to my previous visits to exhibitions which felt characterized by the aimless wandering and gazing at various art structures and pieces, I felt immersed in an ‘experience’ as opposed to the traditional format of art exhibitions where I felt like a voyeur.
Space and Art
The event was unlike any other art exhibition I had previously attended. In comparison with the regular set-up of art galleries and museums, ‘Nude Textures’ and it’s three-video art format, utilized the screen setup as each screen offered a unique portrayal on the connection between the human body and the environment. Alongside the moving images, performers were used in an intrinsic routine throughout the space and recreated the movements depicted on the 3D screens.
Aligning with the space provided, Shoreditch Art Club offers a range of events that “blur the distinctions between the categories in immersive experiences”. It is important to note the use of space and spatial dynamics in art exhibitions, specifically following the digital tools that are being utilized by spaces to make a sensory experience as opposed to a simple viewing interaction. As noted by Wells (2022), the very presence of art has been used to legitimize specific locations as artistic spaces. The utilization of the space provided by the Shoreditch Art Club for the Nude Texture exhibition affirmed the artistic intention of Omer Ga’ash who aims to explore the human body to itself, other bodies, and the wider environment. To achieve this, each of the three 3D screens projects images of the art, modelled by techniques of duplication, repetition, and the employment of vibrant colors. Enabling the figures to appear as abstract and mesmerizing patterns, according to Ga’ash this format worked to “make nudity accessible in public spaces in a non-provoking way.
As the multi-level space at Shoreditch Arts Club provides 360 immersion through its high-definition screens, the question is posed “do these new digital frontiers offer new potential for artists to express themselves whilst expanding the type of audience who it is possible for them to reach?”.
An ‘Experience’ or Exhibition?
Due to the immersive nature of the artwork displayed by Omer Ga’ash, it could be argued the exhibition resembled that of an ‘experience’. Pine and Gilmore 1999, p.12 defined experiences as “events that engage individuals in a personal way”. The multiple offerings of the exhibition could resemble the elements of the ‘experience economy’. Although the theory was originally applied to business ideas surrounding products or services, the ideal of ‘customer experience’ emphasised in the theory, is at the forefront of immersive exhibitions. The increased popularity surrounding events such as ‘The Van Gough Experience’ reflects a reconfiguration of the contemporary art exhibition
“Museams now treat visitors as if they are ‘users’ of a consumer product, and thus cater to their preferences, creating pleasurable non-confrontational enviroments and emphasizing interactivity.”
Anna Wiener
‘Nude Textures’ was a unique experience, the combination of the visual, physical and digital in the exhibition offered visitors a participatory and interactive experience as we immersed ourselves within the multi-sensory environment. Just as the ‘Nude Textures’ exhibition aims to embrace new possibilities and blur boundaries, the rise of immersive exhibitions and the utilization of digitalization methods promises that visitors are no longer observers, but participants within the artist’s vision. The rise of immersive experiences in art exhibitions promises the unfolding of fresh interpretations and reimaginings of the traditional art landscape.
CREATIVE CONVERSATION 