{"id":666,"date":"2025-05-30T07:30:36","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T14:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=666"},"modified":"2025-05-30T07:30:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T14:30:36","slug":"in-of-the-oak-a-magnificent-tree-at-kew-gardens-gets-an-immersive-digital-double","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=666","title":{"rendered":"In \u2018Of the Oak,\u2019 a Magnificent Tree at Kew Gardens Gets an Immersive \u2018Digital Double\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"In<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe in the power of stories to tickle senses and shift perceptions,\u201d says Marshmallow Laser Feast<\/a>, an experiential artist collective merging art, extended reality (XR), and film into large-scale, immersive exhibitions.<\/p>\n

MLF\u2019s latest work, Of the Oak, <\/em>situates a monumental, six-meter-tall, double-sided video of the titular tree in London\u2019s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The piece focuses on the garden\u2019s\u00a0Lucombe oak<\/a>, portraying a \u201cdigital double\u201d using real-world data.<\/p>\n

\"a
Photo by Barney Steel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MLF collaborated with researchers from Kew to create a vibrant, scientific rendering, blending advanced technologies with artistic imagery. The team stitched together thousands of images, used LiDAR to map the tree\u2019s form with laser pulses, CT-scanned soil samples, employed ground-penetrating radar to trace the root system, and recorded a series of 24-hour soundtracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf the Oak <\/em>is a celebration for the oak tree as a living monument of vital ecological relationships and species interdependence,\u201d MLF says. \u201cIt is an invitation to witness the oak as a keystone in the web of life, majestic and unassuming, stretching its branches skyward and its roots deep into the soil, embodying both quiet strength and boundless generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visitors can access a stunning digital field guide<\/a> on their phones or via desktop from anywhere, featuring a series of meditations that \u201ctune into the invisible bond between humans and trees.\u201d The app also includes an interactive species guide highlighting the diverse range of birds, insects, fungi, and other inhabitants that rely on oak trees for survival.<\/p>\n

Of the Oak <\/em>continues at Kew through September 28. Marshmallow Laser Feast is also currently presenting an immersive, seven-room exhibition titled YOU:MATTER <\/em>at the National Science and Media Museum<\/a> as part of Bradford 2025 U.K. City of Culture. See more projects on the collective\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/figure>\n
\"people
Photo by Sandra Ciampon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Photo by Barney Steel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article In \u2018Of the Oak,\u2019 a Magnificent Tree at Kew Gardens Gets an Immersive \u2018Digital Double\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe believe in the power of stories to tickle senses and shift perceptions,\u201d says Marshmallow Laser Feast, an experiential artist collective merging art, extended reality (XR), and film into large-scale,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}