Please, Watch the Artwork brings a bit of horror to Thomas Waterzooi’s art appreciation series
- Please, Watch the Artwork is a new horror-themed twist on Thomas Waterzooi’s work
- It features an exploration of the works of moody American artist Edward Hopper
- Explore his paintings, note anomalies and stop an evil clown
The idea of a liminal space has been done to death in horror, as has the usually friendly and cute place that’s turned dark and ominous. At least that’s what I assumed, but I certainly didn’t expect Belgian solo developer Thomas Waterzooi to prove me wrong in that assertion with Please, Watch the Artwork.
As with Waterzooi’s other projects, Please, Watch the Artwork is all about exploring the works of an artist from a more interactive perspective. In this case, the often haunting works of famous American painter Edward Hopper (he of Nighthawks fame). There’s a twist, however, and it involves a clown.
Yes, in fine FNAF fashion, you take on the role of a security guard keeping an eye on the paintings. But it’s not thieves you’re on the lookout for. Something strange has been happening to the paintings, changing things, and it all seems to have something to do with the aforementioned clown.
Haunting
Even without said clown, Please, Watch the Artwork has a haunting atmosphere. Edward Hopper isn’t exactly known for cheery and colourful paintings after all, and seeing them animated with sound and atmosphere makes them all the more real. For those of you not already familiar with Hopper’s work, this is certain to be a great entry point.
For the remainder of us, I’m sure some will baulk at the idea of an interactive horror experience being used to translate art, but Waterzooi had poked his head into educational work with James Ensor’s artwork featuring heavily in Please, Touch the Artwork 2, so this seems like a natural next step.
Not sure if Please, Watch the Artwork will be worth your time? Well, if you’ve got any doubts, why not find out what we thought of his previous work, Please, Touch the Artwork 2! Educational, interactive and very, very fun.
