‘Silence’ was commissioned by Oak Project to mark World Environment Day 2021 and was created by Heather Peak and Ivan Morison. Responding to the question “Can art save us from extinction?”, Peak and Morison have developed a sculptural space that aims to provide a silent, solitary connection with the natural world.
The circular structure with outer passages and an inner open air pavilion is made from natural materials that will, over time, become part of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park landscape as the weather contributes to its decomposition, leaving only traces of a ring in the ground in years to come.
EDNAEDNA’s Co-Founder, George, visited the space last week: “There’s an immediate sense of calm once you walk inside; the silence is quite pleasantly disorientating. And the fact that it’s built around the birch trees makes it feel like it’s somehow always been there despite being very new”.
It is the first commission as part of a pioneering arts programme by Oak Project to create kinship with nature in response to the climate emergency and environmental crisis. The new programme explores the human relationship with the natural world and builds connection to nature through arts, culture and creativity.
A 2019 immersive experience in Los Angeles that celebrated the House’s 160 year history across the two floors of the iconic 468 North Rodeo Drive building in Beverly Hills, Louis Vuitton X drew on over 180 items from their archives and scenography to trace the House’s pioneering journey, including iconic Monogram bags reworked by renowned artists and designers, such as Karl Lagerfeld, Rei Kawakubo, Cindy Sherman, and Frank Gehry; and original collaborations and commissions by artists including Yayoi Kusama, Richard Prince, and Zaha Hadid.
Made up of 10 vibrantly coloured rooms, each with its own theme, the space took the audience on a journey through the history of the brand in absolute style, as would be expected. No corners were cut in ensuring the entire building was dripping head to toe in ‘premiumness’. Every last detail, from the highly pigmented paints used on the walls, to the plush velvety carpets running throughout many of the rooms, were expertly planned and executed to ensure a truly immersive high-end consumer experience.
The immersive pop-up experience was open across a 3 month period in the prestigious 90210 location, and included a pop-up retail space within.
A.A. Murakami is the artist duo behind Studio Swine and sensory experience ‘Silent Fall’. Straddling the realms of art, design, and cinema, the duo’s work has explored themes of identity and the fragile state of our planet and the urgency to find sustainable solutions drive the studio’s investigation into new and innovative materials. Their unique sensory installations are an ongoing series of works, which follows the tradition of artists emulating nature.
‘Silent Fall’ is an entrancing forest of mechanical trees that release bubbles packed with mist and various forest-y scents, inviting interactive fun. Visitors can wander through the installation, popping bubbles as they go, and even cradling them and bouncing them around while wearing special gloves.
Here’s what EDNAEDNA Co-founder, Tash, had to say about the experience…
“Silent Fall at Superblue is initially a disorientating experience; the music, the low lighting, the scent, the intermittent flow of bubbles and puffs of smoke. It heightens all your senses. Once used to the environment, you're able to enjoy its strange beauty and indulge in the playful nature of the exhibition. It's endlessly fun to capture the bubbles and watch them pop in a cloud of smoke. It feels like magic.”
Universcience - an organisation that works to make science accessible to all - is the mastermind behind this immersive exhibition that is currently live at The Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris. ‘Banquet’ is part kitchen, part laboratory and explores the concept of food and feasting through sight, smell, taste, touch and sound.
The experience is split into three segments, starting with ‘The Kitchen’ where the audience become apprentice cooks, learning about basic culinary skills and flavour combinations. Moving on to ‘The Appetizer’, the audience’s senses are put to the test by sampling foods with modified aromas, colours and textures. The highlight of the exhibition, however, is the final segment, ‘Feast’; an immersive show of projection mapped images, sounds, smells and a full meal imagined by celebrity chef Thierry Marx and scientist Raphaël Haumont.
We think it’s important to keep learning, growing and challenging ourselves and one way we do this is by being inspired by the work of those around us. Keep your eyes peeled for future EDNA’s Picks and do let us know on our socials if you see something that inspires you.
We think it’s important to keep learning, growing and challenging ourselves and one way we do this is by being inspired by the work of those around us. Keep your eyes peeled for future EDNA’s Picks and do let us know on our socials if you see something that inspires you.
