Immersive art museum to open
VIRGINIA BEACH — Earth to selfie lovers: There’s a new planet in town, and its wacky landscapes are designed for people who enjoy taking pictures of themselves in remarkable places and posting them on social media.
Lost Planet, an immersive art museum on 19th Street and Atlantic Avenue at the Oceanfront, is scheduled to open this weekend. Owner J.D. Johnson and his father, Jim, also own Escape! Nightmare Mansion and Mirror Maze. J.D. grew up creating haunted house props, and he recently launched an escape room experience in the same building. Now, a block south of that business, the Johnsons have converted half of the Mirror
Maze space into a selfie museum.
“This place will take you places you’ve never been before,” Jim said.
Lost Planet was born out of a list of “silly notes” made on a sleep-deprived road trip to New York that J.D. and his friends took in 2019. They tossed around the idea of a “selfie museum” with carefully designed rooms treated as gallery spaces. Unlike traditional, handsoff museums, guests are encouraged to interact with the exhibits and pose for photographs.
In January 2020, they started tearing down old walls and then the pandemic hit.
“While everybody was at home, we had three times as much work to do, attempting to build on our own,” J.D. said.
The journey starts with shooting stars projected in the lobby and a trek upstairs; instructions on taking photos are posted in the museum. For example, the first illusion involves the massive hand of a gorilla and a wall painted with an upside-down door.
People can stand in the grip of the gorilla and snap a photo. On their phones, they can flip the image and it will appear as if the gorilla is holding them upside down.
Around the corner, people can sit in a 1950s-style diner booth where a monster appears to grab it and lift it off the floor. As people meander through Lost Planet, they can look through peepholes and see tiny hidden tropical worlds in the walls.
Adults can fall into a foam pit that has a spooky tree for a backdrop. J.D. suggests taking slow-motion video here. Fun fact: The pit is where the dance floor of former nightspot Worrell Brothers used to be.
The route runs through a bungee maze, a laser hall that will challenge people’s bearings and then the course flows into the “heart” of the planet and
J.D.’s favorite display: a giant red human heart with a door.
“This is the one room that really feels like a piece of art you’re climbing into,” J.D. said.
The last space is the “Full
Moon Room.” Without ruining the surprise, it ends on a very cheeky note inspired by that sleepless road trip and those “silly” ideas. It comes with sound effects, so be prepared to giggle.
“Over the edge,” Jim said. “That’s what we’re after. We don’t want mediocre.”