★★★★★
Review: Luxmuralis: The Story of the Renaissance, University Church of St Mary the Virgin, on in Oxford until 27 June, on in Canterbury Cathedral in September and St Albans Cathedral in October. Booking information here.
Art collective, Luxmuralis, returns to Oxford with its new installation, Renaissance. For those not familiar, Luxmuralis synchronises light and sound to create beautiful and profound audio-visual experiences, which are projected onto the walls of historic buildings.
Oxford residents are used to seeing Luxmuralis’ beautiful experiences projected onto the outside of iconic buildings such as the Radcliffe Camera, the Natural History Museum or the Bodleian Library.
For this show, however, Luxmuralis projects its Renaissance installation onto the inside of Oxford’s iconic University Church. The visual experience created by Peter Walker draws on excerpts from the defining scientific, artistic, literary, and philosophical works of the Renaissance, as well as images showing the path of illumination flowing from East to West via Marco Polo’s travels.
These remarkable images and their seamless transitions are masterfully complimented by David Harper’s original and powerful score – filled with majestic choral layers.
Renaissance allowed me to experience University Church, that most hallowed and traditional of spaces, in a completely non-traditional way. Many people sit on the floor (as I did) or lie down – to fully immerse themselves in the installation.
There is no right way to experience a Luxmuralis show – but my favourite way is not to intellectualise it too much. I am most enriched when I surrender myself to the experience rather than trying to deconstruct its components.
Renaissance is joyful and profound; reminding us of a pivotal moment in history when the noblest aspects of human nature prevailed against the insular and ignorant – ushering a profound and transformative era for humanity.
All photographs ©️ Luxmuralis.
If you enjoyed this review, you may enjoy the interview I did in 2021 with Luxmuralis artist, Peter Walker, which you can find here.
