Multimedia magic in a mine

The biggest surprise of the trip – the multimedia, blow-your-mind light show in a limestone quarry. Words cannot describe, and photos cannot capture, the wondrous world inside these limestone walls that encapsulates visitors for 45 minutes of sheer, eye-opening delight.

This is Carrieres de Lumineres in Baux de Provence. The show, "Klimt and Vienna – A Century of Gold and Colours" celebrates the art mastery of Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)  and his contemporaries. To be honest, we were tired, we had had a long day, we didn't have the energy or appetite to see a show. We figured we would be going to the theatre to see a play. But as we walked into a quarry, the coolness of the limestone walls all at once chilly but refreshing, we stepped into an exciting  world in full swing. Thousands of images in bright colours, paintings disassembled and then reassembled in a fluid dance throughout nearly 7,000 square metres of space that was constantly moving and changing. Alive. We wandered about, captivated by 100 years of digitized Viennese paintings featuring the works of Klimt as well as Egon Schiele and Friedensreich Hundertwasser (bless me!). Even the stone floor exploded in shapes and colours, all moving to a booming musical soundtrack of chamber music. The coolness of the quarry felt so fresh – a burst of oxygen to the senses.

This was multimedia at its finest. It was so unusual. The music was quiet as the drawings would come to life slowly, inch by inch, and then became boisterous as the paintings would explode across the stone walls, the pillars, the floor, reaching all the way up to the 14-metre-high ceilings. Avant-garde portraits and bodies, geometric shapes, landscapes and florals all changed instantaneously. 

I literally stood motionless, mouth agape. I had never seen anything like this. Completely blown away. What was really remarkable was how the show took full advantage of the quarry's unique space. Rather than a simple slideshow, every square inch of the mine was used. It was so powerful. Highlight of the trip. This audiovisual show presents the works of the greats in art history, with a new show beginning in January 2015.

Images dance across the floor.

And change at the blink
of an eye.