It is difficult to escape from reality. When reading a book or watching a film, you might just start to believe that you’re not in Durham. But there is always something that brings you back – the sheen of fingerprints on your MacBook; the swishing of flares – tiny distractions and incongruities. In a gallery, a painting always has a boundary and is contained as something to be observed. You can only experience the work of art from a safe distance demarcated by alarm bells and cordons.
Despite its transparency, that literal space between yourself and the work cushions the experience. Barnett Newman tried to resolve this by telling people to stand only a ‘short distance’ from his paintings. Undoubtedly, a practical and cheap solution, but perhaps not the most effective. Immersive artworks are more deliberate in their techniques.