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Panorama of Congo: Unrolling the Past with Virtual Reality

The exhibition “Panorama of Congo: Unrolling the Past with Virtual Reality” opened on February 24 at the National Museum of Natural History and Science in Lisbon. This exhibition stems from the research project CONGO VR (FilmEU RIT) coordinated by Victor Flores (Lusófona University) and Leen Engelen (LUCA School of Arts) and focused on the 1913 Panorama of Congo by Alfred Bastien and Paul Mathieu, currently owned by the War Heritage Institute in Belgium.

The exhibition begins by immersing the visitor in a Congolese forest of shadows that will lead them to an installation with a photographic reproduction of the Panorama of Congo and a disquieting soundscape that questions the propagandistic nature of this image. Secondly, the exhibition offers a reinterpretation of this monumental painting (1610 m2) through two Virtual Reality experiences.

The first experience recalls the historical context of this colonial propaganda and the preservation issues of such colonial heritage. The second experience showcases artistic

interventions in the Panorama by the Congolese artists Deogracias Kihalu, Castélie Yalombo, Eléonor Hellio and Michel Ekeba (Kongo Astronauts), Hadassa Ngamba and Lukah Katangila. The visit concludes with a screening of a short documentary film by Érica Faleiro Rodrigues on the decolonial issues raised by this research project. The exhibition will be on shown in Lisbon until 16 June 2024.

The CONGO VR project has been presented at the IPC Conference from its outset (Luxembourg, 2022; Iowa, 2023) and has benefitted from the valuable expertise and suggestions provided by its members. Such interaction and knowledge transfer will also be the goal of the upcoming FilmEU DOCTUS seminar (Lusófona University, March 21–22) where some Panorama researchers, such as Gabriele Koller, as well as artists such as Yadegar Asisi and Christl Lidl will present their work to the PhD students of eight European high education institutions. This seminar, titled ‘Media Arts: Back & Forth,’ also includes a guided tour of the Panorama of Congo exhibition.

COAL + ICE at Asia Society in New York, February 13–August 11, 2024

Described as “an immersive photography and video exhibition that brings together the work of over 30 photographers and artists from around the world to visualize the causes and consequences of the climate crisis and foreground creative solutions,” this exhibition at Asia Society in New York City aims to raise awareness of climate change by visualizing the human consequences.

First presented in Beijing in 2011, the exhibition has traveled across China, and has been shown in Paris, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Displayed on two floors of Asia Society, the immersive effect of Coal + Ice is created mostly by projecting video on to large screens.

“Submerged Portraits,” includes large photographs and several large screens showing video of people from many countries wading or boating through floodwaters (often with some of their belongings), or simply immersed in high water, with day changing to night and back again.

Another area holds photographs showing the effects of cyclones: one shows what appear to be parts of buildings flying over a house with a “Beware of Dog” sign on its fence; the “dog”

would seem to be a lesser threat than a cyclone. Video of an actual cyclone, taken for television news, is projected.

Coal and Ice share a large area: archival silent film footage of a coal-mining town is juxtaposed with video showing huge machinery extracting coal, and coal being transported by rail and ship. Portraits of coal miners in China are displayed next to photographs showing their working conditions. Ice dominates the other half of this area, with time-lapse video showing the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas, and an island gradually disappearing, being destroyed by rising sea levels.

According to the Asia House brochure, the exhibition “aims not to scare, but to mobilize.” Related programs include discussions, films, book talks, and concerts.

Painted circular panoramas of battles immersed the viewer in the scene, gave the sense of “being there.” COAL + ICE immerses the viewer in other ways, and in another battle—this one for the planet we all occupy—and reminds us that we must take action, for we do not want to be part of the “there” represented in many of the images displayed.

Renewed interest in reviving Innsbruck’s original rotunda building

In Innsbruck, Austria, the Tirol panorama painting of the 1809 Begisel battle was separated from its original rotunda in 2010 (under protest from IPC and preservationists). The Tirol panorama reopened in its new location on Bergisel hill overlooking the city in 2011. Although proposals for the reuse of the rotunda were collected at that time, progress stalled, and the rotunda remained empty for a decade.

At the end of last December, the State of Tirol finally approached the city of Innsbruck in order to gift the rotunda to the city. Without clarifying the financial impact of such a transfer in ownership, the city did not accept the gift—yet. After Innsbruck’s municipal elections in April 2024, it is likely that the involved parties come to a positive agreement about the rotunda’s future use.

The International Panorama Council is a non-governmental and not-for-profit association subject to Swiss law.