At this new attraction in Rotterdam, you’ll be spinning on your feet: works by the Dutch Masters come to life
Right beneath the Erasmus Bridge, a new attraction is set to open on 30 July that will keep your eyes and ears wide open. It’s called Remastered, and its creator is aiming for a quarter of a million visitors a year.
Creative director Robin Groenveld has devised a hybrid of an exhibition and an event centred around world-famous artists, the Old Dutch Masters. Paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Pieter Bruegel, Hieronymus Bosch and Piet Mondrian have been digitally enhanced and are projected onto the walls and floor. “Mondrian isn’t officially considered one of the Old Dutch Masters; he’s from a more recent era,” Groenveld quickly adds. “But Mondrian was a great artist, and his work is the perfect way to round off the show.”
Monster
Mondrian’s dynamic, clean lines are ‘accompanied’ by a track from 2ManyDJs. It’s an existing track, incidentally, whereas Sam Feldt was commissioned to compose music to accompany Bosch’s bizarre figures – think of the head-footed man, the blue flutist and the bearded monster – as they parade through the space.
As well as wandering around Remastered in wonder, it’s certainly not out of the question to start dancing. Or, alternatively, to sit quietly on the floor and let the audiovisual ‘spectacle’ wash over you. “We’ve already sent friends and family through the experience, and afterwards I asked them what they thought of it and what they’d seen. Everyone mentioned something different; whilst one person spoke of a meditative moment, another said they’d had a good dance,” says Groenveld.
I’m sure there’ll be plenty of grown-ups here colouring and drawing too, so they can make their UFOs or rockets fly across the LED screen. I’m sure of it
Robin Groenveld, Creative Director at Remastered
Erasmus Bridge
The exhibition featuring the six Dutch Masters marks the culmination of a tour through the 1,000-square-metre building. For years, it stood empty next to the Spido ticket office. Trams rumbling across the Erasmus Bridge can still be heard inside, but according to project manager Erich Römer, the noise has been significantly reduced since the refurbishment. “The space where we stage the half-hour show on the Dutch Masters is fitted with a two-metre-thick soundproof wall. It’s actually become a box within a box. That approach was really necessary, because before that, two people having a conversation couldn’t hear each other when a tram was crossing the bridge.”
Groenveld hopes that his new form of entertainment will attract 250,000 visitors a year. By way of comparison: in 2019 (i.e. pre-pandemic), Blijdorp Zoo recorded 1.56 million visitors, whilst both the Kunsthal and the Nederlands Fotomuseum enjoyed a record year with 300,000 and 100,000 visitors respectively. A Remastered ticket costs €24.50 for an adult. And while we’re on the subject of comparisons: Blijdorp charges €23.50 for admission, the Kunsthal €16.50, and the Fotomuseum is €2.50 cheaper than that.
Underwater world
Remastered comprises a total of six rooms. The digital visual world created there bathes visitors in no fewer than 245 million pixels. The underwater world offers a particularly special experience. In this room, the walls are fitted with sensors. If a school of fish swims past and you place your hand on the wall right in the middle of the school, hundreds of fish scatter.
The entrance area is also well worth a visit. An LED screen – which, according to the two men, is the largest interactive indoor LED screen in Europe – displays the Dutch landscape, complete with cows and windmills. But the most important thing is what flies and hovers through the air, as visitors can actually influence what happens there.
“There are pre-printed rockets, hot-air balloons and UFOs that children can colour in or add text to,” explains Groenveld. “Once they’ve finished, they can scan it and see their artwork straight away on the screen. I saw this before at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore. Adults were just as keen to colour and draw with them, and that’s going to happen here too. I’m sure of it!”
