The much-anticipated Digital Dreams exhibition at the National Gallery has finally opened its doors, following months of aggressive marketing. While the technical execution of the Virtual Reality (VR) installations is undeniably impressive, the underlying artistic content feels remarkably hollow. Visitors are invited to don headsets and ‘walk’ through immersive versions of famous impressionist paintings, yet the experience often feels more akin to a high-budget video game than a meaningful encounter with fine art.

If the curators had focused more on the narrative context of the artists’ lives and less on the wow factor of the gadgets, the exhibition might have been a masterpiece of modern education. As it stands, it feels like a flashy but shallow attempt to attract a younger, tech-savvy audience at the expense of depth. It begs a difficult question for the modern museum: is technology genuinely enhancing our appreciation of art, or is it simply replacing the need for a focused, human connection with the canvas?