The Museum of Illusions opens its doors on Saturday in Montreal after having hypnotized several major cities around the world. Kaleidoscopes, luminous rooms and optical games try to amuse visitors while demystifying the limits of human perception.
After Toronto, Montreal is the second city in Canada chosen by the international franchise, which already owns 43 museums around the world.
Montrealers and tourists from Old Montreal who visit the museum with freshly painted walls on rue Saint-Antoine will be able to experience the same interactive experience as visitors to the first establishment located in Zagreb, Croatia, which opened in 2015.
With a few exceptions, these are the same creations that can be found all over the world.
Interact with art
Creating an experience different from that reserved for “traditional” museums is the goal of manager Yoshimmy Salas. Her study project in visual arts had led her to “make paintings that you can touch”, which is the case of the 70 permanent installations of the Museum of Illusions. The spirit of play inhabits several creations.
You can, for example, pretend to have your head cut off or to be suspended from the ceiling. It is therefore better to be a minimum of two people to be able to enjoy it, especially if you want to trick your Instagram followers with optical illusions. The museum is effectively designed to incorporate photography for visitors to create content themselves.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
François Roy takes a photo inside one of the kaleidoscopes.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The tilted room gives the illusion that Yoshimmy Salas (right) is taller than his colleague, when this is not the case.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
This kaleidoscope is one of the installations that can only be found in Montreal.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Yoshimmy Salas is ready for the game and seems to have his head cut off.
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Combine fun and learning
The games of light, the mirrors that reproduce the same image over and over again and the surprises hidden in a photo also serve to popularize optical games. Each installation includes an explanation of the illusion since understanding is often a matter of “hypothesis”, underlines Mme Salas.
Certain installations are well known such as the hypnotic wheels and the faces that you only see in the image if you stand at a certain angle. Watch out for the main attraction if you’re easily dizzy: walking through the vortex tunnel may throw you off balance – and that’s the goal.
It will also be an opportunity to take you for an actor from The Lord of the Rings since the tilted room uses the same technique used on screen to represent Hobbits. Even your tallest friend would look smaller than you!
The Museum of Illusions opens its doors on Saturday. The price of a ticket is $26 for a person aged 16 and over ($20 between 13 and 15 years old and $24 for people aged 65 and over).