Drawing Room

Drawing room

Drawing Room is a 7-minute, real-time animated fully hand-drawn VR artwork. Created in 2015 by visual artist Jan Rothuizen in collaboration with interactive director Sara Kolster and new media collective Zesbaans, the project invites viewers into a drawn world that blurs the boundaries between observation, imagination, and presence.

The project received the IDFA DocLab Storytelling Award (2015) and a Special Jury Mention at the Geneva International Film Festival Tous Écrans, praising it as 

“a unique piece of adaptation and collaborative work, distinguished by the quality of its storytelling, tonality, and visual execution.”

Synopsis

Drawing Room is a “drawn reality” inspired by a tower room on the roof of De Bijenkorf, Amsterdam’s oldest department store. Invited to spend time in this secluded space overlooking Dam Square, Rothuizen translated his observations, thoughts, and fleeting impressions into a fully immersive virtual environment.

Through the artist’s eyes, viewers explore the room and the city beyond, where real and unreal seamlessly merge. Playful texts, lines, and details unfold across the virtual canvas, encouraging close attention rather than spectacle. Drawing Room gently questions the nature of virtual reality itself: can the simple act of being somewhere—of experiencing a place—be a work of art?

Technical Summary
Duration: 7 minutes
Format: Real-time animated Virtual Reality (360°)
Technology: Unity
Platforms: Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard, desktop and tablet browsers
Type: Immersive Non-Fiction / VR Art

Dirk van der Weelden schreef over dit werk een stuk in Vrij Nederland.