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World's largest 3D art museum wows UAE visitors

Dubai - The Trick Art Museum will take you on a trip to fantasy land through its interactive and immersive artworks.

Looking for the perfect day out for the whole family? Then look no further as a cool, new 3D Trick Art Museum opened its doors to the public on Thursday. Located just off Sheikh Zayed Road (near Oasis Mall), 3D World Dubai is said to be the first of its kind in the Middle East region, covering an area of 23,000 square feet, divided among two floors.
As soon as one enters the vicinity of the museum, every nook and corner, ranging from the façade to the exterior walls of the museum, seem to come alive with colourful optical illusion artworks that trick your eyes into thinking that the flat artwork is three-dimentional. Around 1,400 litres of paint was used by a team of 16-20 artists from across the world, who flew to Dubai at different times to complete the artwork in around six months.
Be it flying on a magic carpet, walking a tight rope over a canyon, swimming with sharks or walking deep into a dangerous jungle, the Trick Art Museum will take you on a trip to fantasy land through its interactive and immersive artworks.
Touted as the largest in the world, the museum houses 185 artworks and is divided into nine zones with different themes - illusion, Arabic, Egyptian, water world, animal kingdom, world of masterpieces, fantasy, forest and humour. Each artwork you come across will come to life when you look through your camera/phone lens. Visitors can choose the story they want to capture to create special memories.
Raman Ticku, businessman and owner of the museum, said each artwork was hand-painted by master craftsmen, carefully chosen and recreated to give visitors an "immersive" experience by becoming a part of the art. "A number of teams were involved in different stages. When one team makes the illustration on the computer, another team projected it on the wall. The third team does the outline and walls and the fourth team fills in the paints, gives the right shades and finishing touches. From the lighting to the flooring and air-conditioning, everything had to be matched to get the perfect effect of the artworks."
Ticku and his wife Schakun Singh, who already run a tourism business in Dubai, said the idea of opening a 3D museum in Dubai started bubbling in their heads about six years ago when they went for a family vacation to the Far East and visited one such museum there.
Singh said since they have lived in Dubai for around 30 years, they wanted to bring to the city something spectacular that would add another feather to its cap, hence they came up with the idea of the biggest museum. "We have also included the local culture and its landmarks to appreciate this beautiful country. In the Arabic zone, you can see the spice souq, the abras, the fountain at The Dubai Mall and the most recent addition is the UAE's entry into space for which we have an artwork showing the UAE's flag hoisted on the moon."
Srishti, a visitor who had come with her parents and siblings, said unlike other not so engaging art museums, the 3D World Art museum 'wowed' her beyond expectation.
"I must confess I have never seen a museum of art illusions this size. I have seen smaller museums using props for 3D illusion but here, all the art is handmade and yet so immersive and interactive. It has been a treat for me as an amateur photographer and it has managed to engage people of all age groups as I can see my parents, my siblings all thoroughly enjoying here. To see elders enjoy like kids just explains how interesting this place is."
saman@khaleejtimes.com

Tricking the eye
According to Schakun Singh, 3D art refers to a traditional French art technique called Trompe-l'oeil, which means 'trick the eye'.
"Skillfully hand-painted, this technique turns two-dimensional paintings into three-dimensional images through the use of optical illusion. Paintings on the walls, ceilings and ground make you become part of the artwork, bringing you into the setting of the scene. So by posing in front of the artwork, you allow the art achieve its purpose. So participation of visitors is the main attraction of illusion art."