Take a trip down Madison Avenue in Covington, Kentucky to the entrance of Tobacco Alley. On both sides of the narrow pathway, visitors are transported into the Wenzel House, a mural painted to look and feel like a Victorian Home. The masterpiece includes 3D elements, plus doors that open. Gabrielle Siekman, one of the lead artists says the 12-foot-tall mural is a hyper-realistic fine art experience that’s immersive and includes scavenger hunts.
“We call this the Wenzel House but in reality, it is a mural inside an alley, on both sides of the alley to make you feel as though you’re inside the interior of the house but you’re not in an actual house,” explained Siekman.
On this sunny fall day, Siekman begins a tour of the realistic-looking hand-painted Victorian Home.
”So this yellow room with the wallpaper pattern, this is the foyer. You have the grand staircase here and on this side, we’ve got this welcome sampler. So, we painted it to look like one of those old stitched samplers. But it says welcome to Immersion Alley’s Wenzel House, make yourself at home. And this is actually where it kind of introduces our scavenger hunts. So, it says Covington’s treasures are open for inspection. To find the key look behind your own reflection,” reported Siekman.
Hundreds of onlookers have shown up on the opening day. Melanie Walden and her eleven-year-old Galina walk down the alley from the living room to the dining room where they open the doors of the China closet and find items like a hand-painted teapot,a large platter and long-stemmed candy dish. Next, they move to the kitchen where Galina is in awe as she opens the refrigerator and sees authentic-looking food and beverages.
“All the food looks real. It’s a different experience for me. I get to actually open the doors and see what’s inside the painting. It’s just like WHOA!” exclaimed Galina.
“Normally paintings are a ‘do not touch’ experience, you know, you kind of just watch and look at it. This is the first time you’re actually encouraged not only to touch but then interact with the painting around you, which is so cool it actually makes you be a part of the experience,” said Melanie.
The kitchen is also a favorite of Devan Horton, one of the mural’s lead artists. Horton said the project is 2400 square feet. She said it took two years to complete with many 10-hour days of painting and 12 muralists besides Horton and Gabrielle Siekman doing the work.
” It’s a combination of all of the artists really. All of the artists had input somewhere. We all sort of fed off of each other. Which I think adds to the cohesiveness of the entire mural,” said Horton.
Horton explained one of the things that intrigued her.
“All of the items hiding inside of the cabinets really make it alive, like somebody actually lives here. So, it’s a really important piece,” said Horton.
Horton walks up to the fireplace where children hover and pretend to warm their hands over the realistic-looking fire. Above the mantel is a portrait of Edgewood resident Amy Milburn and her husband. Horton said the entire project was Milburn’s idea. Milburn said a Quality of Place Grant from the City of Covington and private funding helped make the artwork happen. Everything from the Victorian House theme to the scavenger hunts and 3-D elements were Milburn’s ideas.
“Yes, I wanted things to open. I wanted it to be so you couldn’t quite tell what would open and what wouldn’t open,” said Milburn.
Milburn explained why she came up with the concept.
“Because I like to have fun and it seemed like fun to me and I think other people would like to have fun too. So, let’s make it fun. You don’t need any technology. Everybody can do this,” explained Milburn.
The crowd is definitely having fun, pretending to sit in chairs, opening doors, gazing at the suit of armor, and trying the scavenger hunts.
People like Lynlee Miller, Lewis Connell, and Michael and Lexie Kroth are just a few of the visitors mesmerized by this immersive art project.
“We were doing the scavenger hunt . And we were trying to find like the things. But I think it’s cool that they incorporated a scavenger hunt into it,” said Lynlee.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. This is kind of a next level of a definition of a mural, ya know?’ reported Lewis.
“The detail is exquisite,” said Michael.
”Everything looks so realistic like you want to grab things or sit on things. It’s super realistic. I love it,” explained Lexie.
The muralists in the Immersion Alley Collective agree the interactive art is a great way to connect with the community and beautify part of the city.
As far as they know, the Wenzel House is a permanent installation.
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