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OUT ON THE BATTLE FIELD

Mandated by ” La Bande à Paul ” studio, Lucion created two immersive installations for the “Vimy – Beyond the Battle” exhibit presented at the Ottawa War Museum. The purpose of the exhibit was to transport museumgoers into the thick of the battle of Vimy and to honour the memory of fallen soldiers along the front.

The “War Tunnel” is an artistic, interactive light installation that rouses a sudden feeling of stress and discomfort in response to the war and its battles. This sensation is sustained by the constantly-moving projection and the confined space in which visitors find themselves, which was designed to mimic a long, dark, narrow tunnel.

On one side of the tunnel, the projection displays a battlefield in action. Cannons eject shells, smoke explodes out of craters, while figures of soldiers patrol and charge like ghosts on the battlefield. Visitors play a passive role in the installation, but when they move through the tunnel, a camera captures and projects their shapes on the battlefield amidst the figures of other soldiers. It creates a realistic and eerie effect.

The second installation entitled “The Commemoration Wall” is more symbolic. Each lamp in the wall represents one of the 3,598 Canadian soldiers that died at Vimy between April 9 and 12, 1917. The lamps light up and flicker, representing the lives of the soldiers. Each lights up individually as visitors pass on by.

The wall becomes brighter and busier the more visitors there are. The latter sense a real connection with the soldiers and in seeing their own presence impact the intensity of the wall, they get a chance to think of their role in the commemoration. At the exit, a giant screen displays the names of the 3,598 soldiers that fell at the front.

The original soundtracks the exhibition and “War Tunnel”  are available on this website, click here to hear it ! Creations of David Brodeur !