There’s a particular feeling that comes from stumbling across the remains of a large old tree—its broken trunk still firmly rooted in the ground, its weathered bark revealing a long tenure in the place where it stands. It’s easy to imagine the history embedded in this tree, the stories it could hold after decades of witnessing seasons shift and the world change around it.
Arbor reimagines one of nature’s most iconic forms, the tree, through the lens of light and architecture to create a monolithic interactive art installation. Vertical LED tubes rise from the ground up the trunk of the tree to its broken top, allowing light to visualize the unseen flow of water, nutrients, and energy that once ran within this tree, at the different seasons of its life. The shifting colors, timing, and patterns of light bring these natural processes to life, revealing the quiet rhythms that surround us every day.
Arbor is designed to show the hidden rhythms of life that exist deep within trees, by using light to mimic the Xylem, the vascular system of the tree. Arbor is outfitted with an array of presence detection sensors that are activated by movement within a 15-foot radius of the installation. These sensors then trigger the tree to ‘wake’ from its ‘dormant’ state and showcasing a variety of light modifications.
Artists
MattCreative
MattCreative is a new-media artist from Waterloo, Ontario, working primarily with large-scale, interactive LED installations to push the bounds of what is possible, while bringing wonder and interactivity to the public realm. His installations focus on the impact of scale and moving light in unexpected ways; from 9-story buildings in the heart of a city, to all the trees within a park. Every installation is thoughtfully designed to complement the space itself with visualizations that invite visitors to experience it in a new way. Special attention is paid to minimize waste with the design of reusable, recyclable, or repurposed components, allowing for easy repair, maintenance, and long lifespans.
