Skip to content

Bristol artist paints mural to coincide with Van Gogh exhibition

Khris Cowley Video mapping roomKhris Cowley
Visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the artwork through video mapping

An artist has painted a mural trail across a city centre leading to an exhibition that allows people to go "inside" the works of Vincent Van Gogh.

Propyard in Bristol is hosting Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, which brings his paintings 'alive' using video mapping.

Graffiti festival Upfest and Bristol artist Farrah Fortnam have created the murals to coincide with the exhibition.

She said Van Gogh's Sunflowers and The Starry Night had inspired her.

Bristol artist Farrah Fortnum
Ms Fortnam has painted several murals which link the centre of Bristol to the exhibition

"I developed a passion for painting from a love of nature, from my Pakistani heritage and working in the creative world," she said.

"My style has developed over 15 years and has transformed from a translation of henna and Asian patterns into depictions of the natural environment.

"Since becoming aware and seeing first-hand the impact of humans on the oceans and rainforests, I wanted to highlight the climate crisis to the wider public through my street art and paintings."

Start of the Upfest trail
The trail, created in conjunction with the Upfest festival, was inspired by Van Gogh's works
Van Gogh immersive experience
The immersive exhibition has already been seen across the world, in China, the USA and Europe

Propyard, a reclaimed factory close to the River Avon, will be the largest UK venue to host the exhibition, which has already been to Naples, Dallas, Beijing, Tel Aviv and Antwerp.

Khris Cowley Vincent Van Gough artworkKhris Cowley
The show is curated by Exhibition Hub
Khris Cowley A person with a virtual reality headset onKhris Cowley
Some of the exhibits feature virtual reality
Khris Cowley A remake of Van Gough's bedroom at the exhibition.Khris Cowley
The artists behind the show remade Van Gogh's bedroom
Khris Cowley Bustier of Vincent Van GoughKhris Cowley
The exhibition features 300 artworks

The exhibition, involving 300 Van Gogh pieces, is open to the public until 4 September.

Presentational grey line

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]