Spanning more than 10,000 square feet and built with cutting-edge VR tech, surround-sound narration and fully walkable environments, it's closer to exploring a living historical document than attending another "immersive" pop-up. After a strong run in London, the installation makes its U.S. debut with the same two years of archival research, atmospheric pacing and careful storytelling that earned it rave early reviews.
Deep in a valley in the New Zealand wilderness, clear cold water rushes across moss-covered rocks. In the morning the mist rises up and lays across the valley. In the afternoon sun glints on the Pearce River, shafts of light filter through native tree canopy. It is a fecund, primeval place. The water has flowed down through tunnels in Mount Arthur, in South Island's north-west, to meet at the Pearce Resurgence at its base.