Held in a secret location, Chapter Five/KAIHOGYO strips you of your clothes, your phone and your voice for three and a half hours and aims to push you towards an altered state of mind without the need for drugs.
For most people, an art show means spending half an hour looking at some paintings and then going for a nice lunch. But what about something more active and challenging, where you have to have to get involved in the creative process yourself, and essentially become a part of the art experience? Opinion, I find, is divided.
Some run from that approach screaming (well, metaphorically, at least). Others think: “Fantastic, I’ll have some of that!” Well, if you fall into the latter camp, here’s an upcoming event in London you might be interested in.
Enter the labyrinth
From 19 November, 40 people a night (over-18s only) will enter a warehouse in a secret north London location, hand over their phones, jewellery, watches, remove their clothes, including their shoes and socks, and change into a uniform. If you wish to join them, you must tie back long hair and avoid wearing any perfume. You’ll then spend the next three and a half hours being guided through a purpose-built labyrinth by a team of dancers.
Latecomers will not be admitted, and no talking is allowed. The organisers warn this is not a suitable experience for anyone with claustrophobia, a fear of the dark, a fear of being touched, asthma or light-sensitive epilepsy.
Welcome to Chapter Five/KAIHOGYO, the first new production in seven years from the Waldorf Project, an immersive art experience founded by artist Sean Rogg in 2012.
Never heard of the Waldorf Project? Me neither, but turns out this series has built a serious reputation over four previous chapters for being one of the most physically and psychologically demanding shows of its kind on offer anywhere.
Not surprising, then, that most tickets have already sold out on word of mouth alone.
What’s the concept?
The show is based on kaihōgyō, the thousand-day walking pilgrimage undertaken by Tendai Buddhist monks on Mount Hiei in Japan. Sean has distilled elements of this hardcore spiritual practice into an experience that aims to change how you perceive reality. In other words, about as far from staring at pretty pictures on walls as you can get.
Sean says: “I have spent the last seven years researching how to access transcendental states of consciousness without the use of mind-altering drugs. I cannot promise enlightenment, but I have distilled elements of their journey into an experience that uses meditation through movement to guide participants towards an elevated state of consciousness.”
“This is arguably the most intense immersive art experience in the world,” he adds. “It will push participants to the edge of their comfort zones, challenging them physically, mentally and emotionally.”
Why I’m excited
To make this feel real, a 35,000-square-foot former warehouse has been turned into something that promises to feel like a mountain, with participants led through a sequence of disorientating spaces by dancers who double as guides, both keeping you safe and provoking emotional and physical responses.
There’s certainly some serious talent behind it. Choreographers Chihiro Kawasaki and Yen-Ching Lin have each performed with the Waldorf Project for over a decade as well as, between them, working with Punchdrunk, Akram Khan Company and Hofesh Shechter. The score comes from Tom Middleton, half of the ambient act Global Communication. The environment design is by Ana Lumack, who works between London and Copenhagen.
For creatives particularly, this promises to be a must-see, due not just to the scale, but the discipline of the idea. Every rule (no phones, no talking, a change of clothes) exists to strip away the small anchors we use to hold onto their ordinary identity before the experience has even started. Colour me excited.
