Art / Bristol Museum
New VR exhibition showcases ancient cave paintings for first time in UK
A new exhibition will enable people to experience ancient cave paintings for the first time in the UK.
The Cave Art of Lascaux exhibition at Bristol Museum uses virtual reality to bring the 21,000-year-old Lascaux Cave in France to life.
The cave in the Dordogne region of France, which has been described as the “Sistine Chapel of the Stone Age”, has been closed to the public since 1963.
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But now, a 3D immersive experience at Bristol Museum provides an immersive adventure through the caves, where audiences can marvel at the Stone Age paintings of rhinos, bulls, bison and much more.
The immersive experience uses virtual reality to explore the caves – photo: Harri Knight-Davis
As well gazing into this digital time portal, the exhibition encourages interaction with your virtual surroundings, with the chance to paint and crawl within the depth of the cave system.
Originally found by teenagers in 1940, the Lascaux Cave is now a World Heritage Site, with historians researching for decades for the details and meaning behind the paintings and carvings on the cave walls.
In addition to the VR exploration, the exhibition also has other interactive elements that enhance the learning experience.
One highlight is a drawing of a peculiarly skinny man with a beaked nose which can be seen in both the VR experience and in an interactive display.
The Cave Art of Lascaux: a Virtual Reality Experience is at Bristol Museum until September 10.
Main photo: SPL-Lascaux
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