Step Inside the Canvas: The Digital Renaissance of Art

Forget the ‘Do Not Touch’ signs – this is art that wants to surround your senses and swallow you whole

Words Sarita Urupongsa

Modern exhibits are undergoing a transformation into immersive digital playgrounds that engage all human senses through advanced technology. By blending innovative lighting, sound, and scents, these shows invite visitors to step into the natural world rather than observe it from a distance. This new trend prioritises active participation and emotional impact, making nature’s wonders more accessible and entertaining. Unlike traditional galleries, these spaces fuse technology and imagination to place visitors at the very heart of the action. Ultimately, this movement is redefining the museum experience by replacing passive viewing with a multisensory journey through our universe.

Singapore
Exploria at Mandai Wildlife Reserve
Nature, Magnified

Exploria, which opened in early March, is a massive 10,000-square-metre indoor multimedia attraction at Singapore’s Mandai Wildlife Reserve. This next- generation nature discovery centre combines scientific rigour with playful digital exploration. Visitors journey through five immersive worlds, using RFID wristbands to create digital avatars for gamified exploration. These wristbands track your progress, allowing each guest to build a personalised adventure.

Stroll beneath prehistoric megafauna in the Realm of the Giants or shrink down to witness hidden microscopic ecosystems in Micro Worlds. Towering creatures from Earth’s distant past appear in high-resolution projections and interactive animations, leaving visitors face-to-face with species long extinct.

Experience the intensity of extreme climates, from 40°C deserts to icy Arctic tundra, in the Bitdeer AI Extreme Frontiers simulators. Temperature shifts, wind effects, and immersive visuals recreate environments where humans rarely tread.

Discover the astonishing biodiversity of rainforests in Infinite Wonderland or navigate the mysterious, bioluminescent depths of the World of Darkness. Each zone combines storytelling with educational insights to reveal the delicate balance that sustains life across the planet.

Don’t miss “The Planet Awakens” light show at the Biopool, featuring a pulsing 4-metre globe that responds to your actions. As visitors gather round, the sphere reacts with rippling lights and colours symbolising Earth’s vibrant ecosystems. Track your progress on the expedition by collecting species badges and medals and unlocking exclusive souvenir rewards. This universe is too vast to conquer in just one visit, but don’t worry: returning guests can continue expanding their digital collection.

Standard tickets are S$38 for adults and S$28 for children. Dive into this unique blend of entertainment, technology, and environmental education to see the natural world through an entirely new lens.

Mandai Wildlife EAST, 80 Mandai Lake Road, Singapore; www.mandai.com/en/exploria

Hong Kong
Futurescope
Where the Digital and Celestial Merge

Enter FutureScope, where the secrets of our universe unfold in a breathtaking 360-degree embrace. Science, art and spirituality converge in this futuristic dome that’s landed in Hong Kong’s revitalised Kowloon City waterfront.

FutureScope is a multisensory sanctuary that invites you to step out of your physical body and into a journey through time and space. Visitors are enveloped in immersive projections and spatial audio as they interact with the cosmos, helping to shape its evolution.

The journey begins with Perpetual Records, where the experimental soundscape of renowned Japanese artist Daito Manabe uses facial recognition technology to transform visitor features into a collective, geometric digital ecosystem. Your identity merges with
the universe, creating an evolving fractal cosmos that reacts to your every blink.
As more visitors join the experience, their digital imprints combine into a constantly shifting constellation of shapes and sound.

In Resonance Aura, science and mysticism radiate from the Torquetum, a mesmerising mandala of seven self- revolving wheels. The wheels turn through the seven human chakras, opening portals between the celestial and terrestrial worlds.

The experience is grounded in the primordial avant-garde mastery of vocalist Sainkho Namtchylak, whose Tuvan throat singing vibrates through your soul. The sound reverberates in waves, adding a trance-like wonder as Hong Kong’s cityscape dissolves into constellations that ripple across the dome’s interior. Familiar landmarks transform into shimmering particles of light, bridging human civilisation and the vast cosmos beyond.

In the third and final chapter, Waving Script – Bizhentu, the ancient dance of calligraphy is reimagined through high- tech motion. Eastern aesthetics collide with 21st-century technology as the brainwaves of calligrapher Xu Jing and fluid moves of Cantonese opera artist Leung Fei-tung turn the dome into a 360-degree dance of living calligraphy. Every gesture leaves luminous trails that float across the dome like liquid poetry.

Acting as a modern “Spirit Terrace”, FutureScope invites visitors to transcend passive viewership and become active co-creators of a world where the digital and celestial merge. Step into the Dream by the Sea and let your inner self resonate with the infinite.

Daily immersive screenings are free, but pre-registration is required via the FutureScope website or KKday. Tickets for the Waving Script – Bizhentu performance are HK$140 (standard) and HK$100 (concession).

Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong; futurescope.hk

Bangkok
Mahanakhon Skyverse
Virtual Horizons of Thai Wonders

Nestled on the fourth floor of the King Power Mahanakhon building, Mahanakhon SkyVerse represents a groundbreaking fusion of technology, heritage, and creative design. This immersive digital exhibition, titled “The Art of Thailand’s Wonders”, invites travellers to explore the kingdom’s beauty through nine distinct rooms that blend physical reality with a virtual horizon. The journey begins in “Lines of Siam”, where the doors of imagination open to reveal digital depictions of the Giant Swing, Muay Thai, and the vibrant Red Lotus Sea. Moving from landmarks to nature, visitors enter “Wonder Falls” inspired by the majestic Mae Ya Waterfall in Chiang Mai’s Doi Inthanon National Park. Here, the digital atmosphere mirrors the lush greenery and refreshing mist of Thailand’s most beautiful cascades, offering a moment of serene relaxation. National pride is showcased in “Siamese Aquatic Wonder”, where Siamese fighting fish breeds like Moon Tail, Big Ear, and national-flag-coloured varieties embody elegance and strength. Thailand’s coastal beauty shines in “Reflection of Wonder” as digital vistas transport visitors to the limestone cliffs and emerald waters of Krabi’s Tonsai Bay.

Interactive creativity takes centre stage in the “Living Meadow”, where guests bring Thai ecosystems alive. Colour your own orchids, hibiscus, and lotuses – as well as butterflies, ladybugs, and dragonflies – and watch them join a thriving digital meadow.

The energy then shifts to the neon-lit streets of “Thailand After Dark”, capturing the bustling spirit of Yaowarat (Chinatown) and its world-famous street food culture.

Historical grandeur is preserved in “The Living Memory”, a stunning collage of Bangkok’s landmarks, including the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew, and Wat Arun. Visitors then experience “Wonder of the Land”, a 3D optical art installation that creates the sensation of walking between the earth, sky, and water.

The odyssey concludes with “The Spirit of the Land”, celebrating regional identity through symbols like the mystical Naga, traditional Hua Tong boats, and the glowing Yi Peng lanterns of the North.

Visitors can pair these digital wonders with the thrilling highs of the Mahanakhon SkyWalk and enjoy two supreme, world-class experiences in a single visit. The virtual horizon of the 4th floor meets the breathtaking reality of Bangkok’s skyline in a perfect blend of the best Thailand has to offer. Shows run from 10am to 9pm and tickets range from 350 to 1,200 baht per person.

4/F, King Power Mahanakhon, 114 Narathiwas Road, Silom, Bang Rak, Bangkok; kingpowermahanakhon.co.th/ mahanakhon-skyverse