VIMY | Beyond the battle

La bande à Paul was awarded the mandate to create and deliver a turnkey temporary exhibit to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a significant milestone in Canadian military history.

Using a decidedly contemporary approach that included a great deal of technological content, the exhibition invited visitors to live an introspective experience on the theme of commemoration. Through a series of personal stories, some of which were battle-related and others more recent, visitors were initiated to the concept in a broad sense and encouraged to draw links to their own experiences. The sober and classical tour was highlighted by four models that anchored each zone. Sculptor Walter Allward created these models at the time the famous memorial was designed.

 The exhibition also included interactive experiences developed with our Lucion Media partners. The experiences were designed to spark emotion and reflection. At the beginning of the tour, the War Tunnel literally plunges the visitor into a battlefield atmosphere by way of sensors that integrate the visitor’s image with those of soldiers in motion. As soon as they entered the room, original, surround-sound music played to inspire a state of recollection. Featuring 3,598 light-emitting diodes that reacted to the proximity of visitors, the Wall of Remembrance paid tribute to the soldiers who died on Vimy battlefield in April 1917. The exhibit, set up in a very large, sparse room, made the most of the vastness of the museum's McCrae Gallery and was based on a scenography designed to encourage dialogue between visitors and provide the required spaces for intimacy and meditation.