Luxmuralis Bristol Cathedral Review

November 4, 2022November 4, 2022

We went to see the Luxmuralis: Space Voyager Light Show on Thursday evening. Here’s what we thought

Direct Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbv8udE0mws&t=291s

Luxmuralis: Space Voyager Light Show, is a lighting and projection installation filling Bristol Cathedral with a journey through the universe. It’s an impressive event in an impressive setting which has been brilliantly created and perfectly executed.

These pop-up events which occur with regularity in Bristol bring a rich cultural tapestry to the city. It’s pleasing to see more installations featuring the use of lighting and projection creating large immersive events which can be especially more engaging to neurodivergent people.

What should have been a fun evening was again marred with the stress of simply by being disabled in an abled world. Whilst Bristol Cathedral is well experienced with the management of people, a surprisingly busy evening turned quite difficult at the very first set of projections. As people quite rightly wanted to stop and watch the loop, it meant that those coming through could not continue through the crowd, leading to some tense situations.

At one point, a member of the public repeatedly tapped the arm of the autistic young person I was with to get him to move. If he had moved at that point he would have moved into her way. There was nowhere for her to go and it was an exercise in patience she did not have.

When you’re in a crowd this busy, don’t hit autistic people

It’s really important as a member of the public not to repeatedly tap the arm of a person you do not know. This can really trigger autistic people – to the point of meltdown – even more so in a crowd situation where they are likely already struggling.

As the young person started to make gentle noises as part of their re-regulation strategy, it provoked the ire of other people in the crowd who clearly would prefer disabled people didn’t exist. It was a moment I was truly hoping Jesus was watching what was going on in his own house.

The main knave featured an impressive trip through the galaxy in a breathtaking stream that felt like a time vortex. If you are yet to visit Lumuralis, when you get to this point, I would advise waiting for the current loop to finish then make your way down the Knave where there are side seats and the floor to sit on. This is not immediately obvious when it’s very busy. Doing this makes the viewing far less stressful and you get the full benefit of the ceiling to floor projections.

You will know when the next loop is due to start because there is a very clear countdown on the projection. This is really useful and could be helpfully utilised at other venues using immersive light and projection events.

Was Lumuralis worth going to? Yes absolutely. This was a thrilling installation which looked beautiful projected across the full size of Bristol Cathedral. However, it’s time that visitors to such events took more consideration of the people around them. And definitely don’t hit the bodies of people you don’t know.

Luxmuralis: Space Voyager is at Bristol Cathedral until Saturday 05 November 2022.

Direct booking link: https://www.yuup.co/experiences/luxmuralis-space-voyager-light-show