Christie, the global visual and audio technology company, has helped to light up Old Delhi’s iconic Red Fort, for a projection mapping show celebrating 75 years of India’s independence. The 30-minute show, which is called “Matrubhumi” or motherland in Hindi, debuted at the 17th-century monument in March 2022.
Designed to showcase the country’s rich history and culture, the show lights up the Lahori Gate and the surrounding walls using 19 Christie D20WU-HS 1DLP laser projectors. These were installed by Christie’s trusted partner in the region, MSS World. The content was created by Knowsense Studios.
Lighting up famous landmark
“The Red Fort is a world-famous landmark and its main entrance – Lahori Gate – is of great significance as this is the spot where the Indian national flag was raised for the first time on August 15, 1947, to proclaim our country’s independence,” says Pratik Wadhwa, chief executive officer at MSS World.
“It is, therefore, an honour for us to be involved in this remarkable projection mapping show and we have pulled out all the stops to deliver a highly engaging and fascinating multi-sensorial experience.”
The Christie D20WU-HS brings a high brightness of 20,000 lumens, enhanced colour performance and reliability to the installation, easily meeting the challenge of lighting up the heritage site’s 33-meter (108-feet) high red sandstone walls. Recently, MSS World also chose to use 40 D20WU-HS projectors at Vijay Chowk for the first-ever projection mapping show during the Beating Retreat Ceremony in January.
“The Christie D20WU-HS projectors are housed in projection towers overlooking the Lahori Gate and surrounding walls,” adds Wadhwa. “Its compact, lightweight and omnidirectional capabilities provided us with a lot of installation flexibility, reducing the on-site complexities. As a result, we were able to confidently deliver this one-of-its-kind, large-scale visual and cultural spectacle on time for the show’s inauguration.”
100th permanent projection mapping installation in India
Rishubh Nayar, sales director for India, Enterprise, Christie, says: “We are delighted that the Christie HS Series has been chosen to illuminate the legendary Red Fort for this highly anticipated cultural extravaganza, which also marks our 100th permanent projection mapping installation in India. We are immensely grateful to all our partners who stood by us steadfastly all these years and placed their trust in our products to deliver these awe-inspiring visual experiences.”
Following the show’s success, the organisers of the Red Fort Festival, which includes the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Tourism, have announced that visitors will be able to catch “Matrubhumi” for the next two years so that visitors from India.
Christie’s HS Series offers brightness levels of between 7,000-20,000 lumens and resolutions including WUXGA, HD and 4K UHD. In addition, Christie BoldColor Technology ensures that colours look natural and true-to-life while the Christie Twist warping and blending engine and optional Christie Mystique automated camera-based alignment tools make setup, alignment, recalibration and maintenance of multi-projector systems simple.
Because this product range is compact and lightweight, it is ideal for challenging, space-limited installations.
Earlier this month, Christie announced that Hideaki Onishi will take up the role of company chairman and CEO. Onishi brings over three decades of management experience to the role from previous positions within Ushio, Inc. group, Christie’s parent company.
