On Atmospheric Forest

Atmospheric Forest visualizes the complex relations between the forest, climate change and atmosphere. Trees are not only oxygen generators, but they breathe as well, and emit large amounts of volatile organic compounds into the air – we recognize it as a habitual scent of the forest. Scientists have long known about the link between a fragrant forest and the warming climate, but are uncertain about the impact and scale. Atmospheric Forest VR artwork is the outcome of a three-year artistic research project on Pfynwald, an ancient Swiss Alpine coniferous forest suffering from drought due to climate change; the scientists from WSL Research Institute have turned this forest into a “living observatory”.To create the Atmospheric Forest VR artwork, the artists scanned the Pfynwald creating a virtual point cloud environment, and visualized the data provided by scientists. The data sets collected during one growing season included measurements of volatile emissions, resin pressure in pine tree trunks and changing weather. The artists transformed these data into animated particle flows, revealing the complex interaction between the forest ecosystem and atmospheric processes.

As part of the Lecture Series, Atmospheric Forest will be presented on the evening of 08.03.23 in the Immersive Arts Space.