Kew Gardens, in London, is hosting an interactive video installation inspired by one of the world’s grandest oak trees.
Opening to the public on 3 May, experiential artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast’s Of the Oak installation marks Kew’s first outdoor digital art commission.
The 12-minute installation will take visitors on a visual and auditory journey, using real-world data to unveil the hidden interplay of oxygen and carbon dioxide within the Lucombe Oak, which is more than 200 years old.
Standing as a 6m-high LED portal, it will take viewers into the tree’s experience of the four seasons, revealing the usually unseen processes that take place in its bark and in the soil to sustain the tree.
Visitors can actively impact the motions of the oak on screen by moving in front of it, while online guided breathing meditation sessions will allow audiences to synchronise their breathing with the rhythms of the oak.
Of the Oak’s online field guide will serve as a gateway to the vast web of relationships sustained by Kew’s oak trees. By scanning QR codes placed throughout the gardens, visitors can explore an intricate living network and learn how the ancient trees support thousands of species.
To create Of the Oak, Marshmallow Laser Feast collaborated with scientists and horticulturists at Kew, using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) scanning to create a 3D model of the tree, as well as high-resolution photogrammetry and CT scanning to capture intricate details of branches and leaves.
Ground-penetrating radar was deployed to map the Lucombe Oak’s root system.
Paul Denton, head of visitor programmes and exhibitions at Kew, said: “Working with artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast on this unique project, we have blended art, science and horticultural ingenuity to create an extraordinary and innovative interactive portrait of Kew’s remarkable Lucombe Oak.
“This collaboration, marking Kew’s first-ever outdoor digital commission, will invite visitors to reflect on the delicate connections between the trees that sustain us and the future which we are shaping together through a constantly shifting world.”
