When promoting a new television show, Marvel could have gone in a number of traditional ways — a fan screening of the pilot, a “virtual reality” experience, maybe even an alternate reality game — but when Marvel Television and FX are making the first live-action series foray into the world of the X-Men, this isn’t going to be your typical comic book show. And for that, they couldn’t have gone for a typical promotion.
Fans looking for an idea of what Legion will be like got their chance at the “Legion WhereHouse” — an art gallery inhabiting the Villain warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. While the experience didn’t offer much in the way of the story (aside for a brief plot synopsis on display), the WhereHouse offered a look into the themes of the show, where power and consequence, imagination and reality, unity and fragmentation, chaos and order are on display.
The experience consisted of five installations: “Lovers” by Kumi Yamashita, features two very narrow vertical pieces, that when light shone on them in the correct angle, showed two human figures, a man and a woman, walking hand in hand, representing David Haller’s complicated relationship with Syd, which may or may not be romance.
Another piece, “Doors” by Clemmens Behr, was a whirlwind, immersive display of doors and mirrors, suggesting the turbulence going on in David’s mind.
A “grassy knoll” was designed to show a look into David’s mindscape, playing promotional clips from the series.
Michael Murphy’s multimedia piece, “Suspension of Disbelief,” was inspired by a sequence in the pilot, features household objects suspended in midair in seemingly chaotic fashion, but when the viewer stands on the right spot, they will notice that the objects form the logo for the show.
Finally, David Flores’ painting “Legion” was inspired by the poster for the show, showing David in anguish as his mind explodes in clouds of bright colors. When fans downloaded the Blippar app, the painting became an augmented reality experience, where they could insert themselves in David’s place in the poster. For fans that want to know a little more.
For fans that want to know a little more about what the show will feel like when it premieres on FX on Wednesday, February 8th, the “Legion WhereHouse” offered a glimpse into David’s mind, and served as a reminder that Legion will not be a typical comic book show.