Engulfed in a Different Reality

I found the narrative in the installation A Season in Hell to be very interesting. Upon entry, the installation immediately sets the mood, with the darkness, cool air and audio. Then once one begins reading in the first part, the language used adds even more to this alternate reality being created. One sees things once familiar to them, such as political buildings and figures but this time in a new context, construing their previous impression. These figures and events once familiar, are re-introduced, and in a way re-created by the installation in a way never before seen. I thought this was the most interesting: how the installation took figures and events once familiar to the viewer and re-created them inside this new context to make them once again unfamiliar and new.
With that, the narrative was able to recreate feelings and understandings of political and social conditions during times of crisis through our minds seeing these events in the new and unfamiliar context of the installation. This is very powerful, as once doesn’t expect such a shock when walking into such an exhibit. The artist was able to immerse a viewer in such an environment where their previous outlook could be totally left behind, putting them in this alternate reality.