The Cultural Programme at Oxford University is excited to announce the highly anticipated UK premiere of "EVOLVER: An Immersive Journey of Life and Breath," a cutting-edge virtual reality experience created by the famous London-based artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. This intriguing exhibition, which made its world debut at the 2022 Tribeca Festival and its French premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, will be offered to the public from 25 October to 14 November.
This innovative show, taking place in a pop-up unit on Little Clarendon Street, will transform the room into an astonishing virtual reality gallery. Visitors can reserve hourly intervals from 12pm to 8pm daily to experience this unique voyage.
Josie Bamford, Executive Producer at the Cultural Programme, says: ‘Following rave reviews from the Cannes Film Festival to exhibitions across Australia, South Korea and New York, Oxford audiences can now participate in this fascinating experience. As the headline event in our new ‘Adventures in Consciousness Season’, I am sure this will be an opportunity for everyone to learn more about themselves and the world around them. This is a key ambition for the Cultural Programme, and I cannot wait to experience it for myself.'
EVOLVER is an immersive journey through the breathing body, narrated by Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett. Commencing with a 10-minute binaural audio meditation to allow audiences to decompress whilst viewing large-scale projections, this site-specific presentation of EVOLVER invites twelve participants at a time to explore structures hidden far beneath the skin through an all-encompassing virtual reality trip around the human form. This deep dive takes viewers through a sequence of breathing, visualising the essence of life as air travels from the mouth into the lungs, whirling like a tornado, before circulating around the complex rivers and tributaries of our cardiovascular system and back into the natural world.
This event is part of the "Adventures in Consciousness Season," organised by Oxford University's Cultural Programme. The season runs from 10 October to 1 December and includes various activities that explore consciousness from scientific, technological, and artistic viewpoints.
Artist and director, Ersin Han Ersin of Marshmallow Laser Feast says: ‘In this and other works we have created, we are seeking to highlight our connection with the wider systems of nature through the experience of art. The oxygen trees exhale flows into our tree-like lungs, flowing from our heart centre outward through fractal branching arteries to feed every cell in our body. Placing the audience in the centre of these nested ecosystems, we aim to bring them closer to an understanding of our interconnectedness.’
EVOLVER was created by the internationally renowned experiential artist collective, Marshmallow Laser Feast and co-executive produced by the late Edward. R. Pressman and Sam Pressman of Pressman Film, Terrence Malick, Dirty Films‘ Coco Francini, Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton, the famous French studio Atlas V and Orange.
The opening music is from musician and producer Jon Hopkins. The score also features music by Jonny Greenwood, Meredith Monk, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Yair Elazar Glotman, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe and Howard Skempton.
Ticket details:
Monday - Thursday: £15 per person
Friday - Sunday: £20 per person
Students, U25s and U18s: £10 per person
Age guidance: 11+, Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult
Tickets are available to book via: oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk
