I went to the Tutankhamun exhibition in Glasgow and learned one thing

The National

5 days ago

This all started when I went to the Van Gogh immersive experience, shelling out nearly £20 to see distorted projections of classic artworks alongside specifically appointed selfie areas.
This was certainly not how Vincent envisaged his works being received by the public. In fact, for basically the same price you can visit the actual Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam and see the art as it was meant to be seen, and actually learn about the artist as you do it, over four impressive floors.
It says a lot about the dissipation of attention spans and the dumbing-down of society that event organisers imagine the public need The Starry Night to be dancing around and about 10 times larger than its original size in order for it to be properly enjoyed.
So when I heard that Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition was headed to Glasgow, I feared the worst. I really was quite concerned that the Boy King would repeat these same sins.
Ancient Egypt is fascinating. Just reading about it is "immersive" enough. The real artefacts, photographs and first-person accounts from those who discovered its hidden wonders should satisfy you, if you can be bothered to engage your imagination.
I have to say, though, that Tutankhamun – apparently the largest immersive exhibition currently touring the world, according to the creatives behind it – was somewhat better than I expected.
What it involves
Based in the SEC, Glasgow, this 90-minute experience actually does feel like an experience. The beginning has plenty of interesting boards to read explaining the history of the famous king and the time he lived in, and areas showing real and imitation artefacts from the time period, complete with genuinely informative descriptions.
I particularly enjoyed learning about the history of archaeologist Howard Carter and how he discovered the famous tomb – the best preserved ever found in the Valley of the Kings. These sections, which were text-based and accompanied by key objects linked to Carter (old diary entries, diagrams of the tomb lay-out), were very well curated and a highlight of the experience.
The more "immersive" elements of the exhibition were, for me, disappointing. The 30-minute projected film was confusing and lacked context. With a lack of narration it was not clear what we in the audience were actually looking at, and the low-res bugs all over the floor were distracting. Unfortunately it wasn't amazing to look at either. My boyfriend leaned over at one point and simply whispered "PlayStation 2".
The bugs and lizards on the floor prompted more questions than answers ... Mainly: Why is this so low-res? (Image: NQ) The next room was the first VR area and sadly this is when I made a very important discovery about myself. It seems that VR actually makes me feel extremely uneasy. I had heard that motion sickness can occur but I'm not even sure if that was the problem. I felt trapped. I did not like being unaware of my actual physical surroundings. The headset showed me stuck in Tutankhamun's tomb before his journey to the afterlife accompanied by Anubis, which should have been cool, but my heart was racing and my anxiety was telling me I'd soon be heading to the afterlife too if I didn't take the goggles off. I composed myself and went to try again but discovered that every time you remove the set it begins the film again. I put it down to bad luck and moved on.
I thoroughly enjoyed the hologram view of Tutankhamun's mummification, which isn't too gory but does give plenty of scientific detail to the fascinating process. I was ready to move on to the final experience, the Metaverse walk-around through the Valley of the Kings.
One of the best parts of the exhibition is the mummification process (Image: NQ) After waiting in a line for around 15 minutes for a turn in the room, I tried to push my VR fears to one side. When I eventually reached the front of the queue and the very helpful assistant put the wireless headset on, my ambitions waned. Instructed to look to my right to see my boyfriend's avatar in the virtual world, I witnessed a bizarre cartoon version of him. I didn't like it at all. I wimped out and decided to watch him fumble around cluelessly in the room, which was admittedly very entertaining.
My verdict
There is a concept known as uncanny valley. It's basically when something, maybe a robot or an animation, looks real ... but it isn't quite. In some people it provokes a feeling of queasiness and unease. I fear I can be partial to this effect. Thinking back on my life I remember being freaked out by claymation figures that are a little too human looking, video-game characters that blur the line between real and fake, and even animatronic people in theme parks.
If this is something you experience, I would suggest the Tutankhamun exhibit is not for you.
However if you are good with VR, it could be a good time. It has a decent blend of entertainment and informative exhibition space, but more history wouldn't go amiss. I heard other attendees saying they were going to Google lots about Ancient Egypt after leaving. A good exhibition should answer all your questions there and then.
It is probably not a bad shout for a summer holiday activity with the kids. Adult tickets cost £28 while kids prices are £20.45, so it's not cheap, but it's also not significantly more expensive than other summer break treats like going to the zoo. With the amount packed into the exhibition, it feels like decent value for money.
For those of us who can't take the uncanny, we can stick to the straight-forward, classic museum spaces with no virtual spinning around or cartoon versions of our loved ones.
Let's make sure to support our amazing traditional museums here in Scotland, and support their work, so they can continue to put on incredible, educational exhibitions for years to come.