The Dark Side of the Lion with AR

The exhibition "The Dark Side of the Lion" at the Kunsthalle Luzern is the culmination of the multi-year project Lion Monument 21. Twelve regional, national and international artists take a stand on the Lion Monument, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the exhibition space. In this context, an augmented reality experience makes the French Revolution come alive.

The debate about monuments and their contribution to the order of remembrance has flared up again. Against this background, from 16 October to 13 December 2020, under the title "Die dunkle Seite des Löwen - The dark side of the Lion" an engaging exhibition at the Kunsthalle Luzern.

The exhibition space is transformed by the artists Jeremias Altmann and Andreas Tanzer in the sense of a dystopian paraphrase into a pile of rubble - into the "lion's den". In and around this image of devastation are ten other artistic positions created especially for the project. Twelve young and established local, national and international artists cover a wide range of topics: street art, mercenarism, lockdown, privilege, discrimination, militarised nature conservation, wildlife trade and the destruction of habitats are artistically reflected as the legacy of the lion.

AR in the Framework Programme

The exhibition will be complemented by an interesting supporting programme for all age groups. Among other things, the Augmented Revolution Experience Revive la révolution!revive the French Revolution. With the ARE app, the historical production "Revivre la révoltion!" can be experienced independently with one's own iPhone or iPad. From 7 November 2020, "Revive la révoltion!" will be available as a free downloadable app for iPhone and iPad in the App Store.

The research group Visual Narrative Lucerne School of Art & Design is responsible for the AR experience. The group is concerned with storytelling, staging and mediation in linear and non-linear media (e.g. short films or interactive applications for smartphones), questions the use and reception of these media and designs new strategies and formats of communication in visual media.

The AR Experience

The mobile-digital experience Revive la révolution! takes viewers on a gripping journey into the past and to the origins of the Lion Monument. The audience accompanies Franz Müller, a poor farmer's son who escapes the misery of Switzerland against his parents' wishes and seeks his fortune at the French royal court as a Swiss Guardsman. Franz makes it to the position of deputy commander of the Swiss Guard. He witnesses the storming of the Tuileries on 10 August 1792 and sees King Louis XVI executed.

Source: zentralplus / hslu / loewendenkmal21