The Radiohead art exhibition is an experience we didn’t know we needed
On Thursday, the legendary grammy-award winning alternative rock band Radiohead launched their interactive maze-like museum, a Radiohead art exhibition titled “Kid A Mnesia”. Announced a couple months back in September of this year, the band mentioned that they would be bringing Kid A Mnesia to both Mac and PC.
Thanks to Epic Games who published the Radiohead art exhibition, Kid A Mnesia is now available in macOS, Windows, and PlayStation 5 as a free download. Along with Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke, longtime producer Nigel Godrich, and artist Stanley Donwood, the experience was developed by [namethemachine] and Arbitrarily Good Productions.
Yorke also credits Sean Evans as “a genius video/computer artist who directed it all with awe inspiring dedication and energy” and theatre set designer Christine Jones for the incredible work done in the two year project. A commemoration to the 20+ years release of albums Kid A and Amnesiac, the Radiohead art exhibition is not the usual museum installation, but a piece of work in itself.
Without spoiling too much of the experience, Kid A Mnesia sets a hazy atmosphere and unclear tone for the player from the get-go. There is a sign at the entrance to the exhibit that notifies the following:
This is not a game
Take your time
You are at the beginning
So there must be an end
Some places will make sense
Some will never make sense
See you later
Once in, it may be a bit overwhelming to guide around the museum but there’s no worry as it’s not necessarily a linear experience. As they have mentioned, take your time. There is no winner or loser, and the “game” is replayable. Tracks from both Kid A and Amnesiac albums can be heard in multiple rooms and exhibits, and visually, it may feel difficult to not be immersed at times.
Kid A Mnesia is one of the more unique and creative works to come out this year, especially on a gaming platform where art installation experiences like these are far from common. We won’t be surprised if down the line [namethemachine] and Arbitrarily Good Productions release a VR version of the Radiohead art exhibition.
Download Kid A Mnesia for free here from Epic Games.