We’ve seen a few impressive projection screens lately, including, of course, the Las Vegas Sphere, which is covered with 1.2 million LED lights and has an equally impressive 16x16K resolution interior. Then there is the giant “acoustically transparent” LED movie screen installed at the Xinjiekou International Cinema in China, which cleverly makes massive loudspeakers invisible.
However the world’s tallest projection screen, from AV Stumpfl, is just as impressive in its own way as both of those. The L-shaped 40m x 20m (131 feet x 66 feet) custom screen, designed with AV Stumpfl’s Flex Contrast PRO surface, is a centerpiece in an ocean-themed exhibition being held at the 100-metre high Gasometer museum in Oberhausen, a repurposed gas holder turned exhibition arena known as the “cathedral of industrial culture.”
The Planet Ozean (Planet Ocean) exhibition, which runs until the end of the year, highlights the beauty of the oceans and uses AV Stumpfl’s giant screen for the Die Welle (The Wave) sculpture, created by Ars Electronica Solutions.
Life-sized whales
“The Wave sculpture that we have developed here, in close collaboration with Ars Electronica Solutions and the composer Rupert Huber of Tosca, enables a completely new, immersive experience that would only be possible here in the Gasometer,” said Nils Sparwasser, curator of Die Welle.
AV Stumpfl’s 40-metre high screen rises upwards from the Gasometer’s central gallery and is supported by seven 30,000-lumen laser projectors. The photo-realistic computer-generated visuals for Die Welle were created from scratch and show life-sized whales, fish and jellyfish.
Jeanette Schmitz, managing director of Gasometer Oberhausen and Planet Ozean’s curator, said, “We were immediately won over by the concept of The Wave, as it plays on this gigantic space and casts a spell over visitors to the exhibition – where else would you get the chance to go on a hunt with sharks or marvel at humpback whales in their original size? The Wave is also an important pillar of our fundamental concept, as our new exhibition opens up as an overall model with various communicative approaches providing an unrivaled insight into the world of the ocean.”
