18.11.2017 – 25.02 .2018
Discovery Green, Houston, TX
Nature in the context of a bustling urban center has the magical potential to reconnect people with their environment. Located amidst Houston’s unique century-old live oaks, Hello Trees! is an invitation to converse with nature, inspired by the way trees communicate complex information between each other.
The installation takes the form of an illuminated arcade that extends from the ground to the seam of the tree canopies above. Passersby are invited to input messages at stations located at each end of the promenade, and watch and listen as their voices are translated into light and sound patterns that travel along the arches as they walk beneath. The original input is gradually transformed from language to musical melodies. When two or more messages meet, a special light and sound effect is triggered.
The result is an immersive, light animated, crowd-sourced concerto. It is a poetic exercise that encourages slowing down and engaging all the senses with the nature that surrounds us.
“We shouldn’t be concerned with trees purely for material reasons, we should also care about them because of the little puzzles and wonders they present to us.”
– Peter Wohlleben
