The First Emperor

A wraparound projection and video display gives insight into one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century.

Taking advantage of the shape of the British Museum’s famous round reading room, we used a 5m high cyclorama and 11 video projectors to create a seamless 180 degree presentation. This ran around a display of some of the terracotta warriors that were buried alongside the First Emperor in readiness for the afterlife.

The video provided a historic context for the figures and gave a sense of the quantity that can be experienced at the figures’ home, the Terracotta Army Museum in Xi’an, central China.