RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the first room, a line of children and adults waits to record their moment of being trapped in a giant bowl by a Cyclops. Just next door, a young man is caught climbing on the shoulders of Christ the Redeemer.
In the next room, tourists balance on top of the tambourine of a samba player in Lapa and, in the sequence, sharks attack a boat and its crew. In the Museum of Illusions, which arrives in Rio de Janeiro for the first time, the only limits to the imagination are the cell phone camera and the angle of the photo.
After passing through Europe, Asia and also the United States, the installation is set up next to the Sugar Loaf cable car station in Urca. The area covers 300 square meters and offers 40 panels on its walls, hand-designed by national and international artists.
In the rooms, visitors can take pictures with their own cell phones or with the help of employees, creating the idea of “entering” the 3D scenarios enhancing the culture of Rio, Latin America and also fantasy scenarios.
The museum, which is one of the most “instagrammable” in the world, officially opens on Wednesday and has been on a soft-opening pace – it has already welcomed 2,000 visitors. Right at the entrance, visitors come across a typical tourist landscape: the tiled steps of the Selarón Staircase in Lapa.
The entrance fee is R$66 (US$16.50) for adults, R$33 for children, students, disabled and elderly.