Seeing the Invisible at The National Garden

“The most ambitious and expansive exhibition to date of contemporary artworks created with AR technology” comes to our very own National Garden. The tagline for this international augmented reality (AR) exhibition, which takes place at 10 botanical gardens across the world, is Seeing the Invisible and it presents AR artworks by the likes of Ai Weiwei, El Anatsui and more. Athens’ former Royal Garden has made this year’s list and hosts the same body of work as the rest of the participating gardens, plus the specially commissioned artwork New Life by Loukia Alavanou. The same exhibition is presented in all gardens but as the works are augmented into the unique surroundings and context of every garden, the visitor’s experience changes as does the interpretation of the same corpus of works. 

But, what’s augmented reality, you may ask? It’s an enhanced version of our real world that is achieved through technology by using a device like your mobile phone or tablet (just think Pokemon Go.) Download the special app here and point your camera to the surrounding environment to discover the hidden artworks. Follow the clues across the park, catch sight of them all and strike a pose.  

If AR is your jam, don’t forget to check out the current exhibition at the Athens Olympic Museum, too.