The most ambitious and expansive exhibition to date of contemporary artworks created with augmented reality (AR) technology will premiere at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on Thursday 30 September 2021 as one of 12 participating gardens across six countries and be available to view until August 2022.
Seeing the Invisible features works by a dozen international artists such as Ai Weiwei, Refik Anadol, El Anatsui, Mohammed Kazem, Sigalit Landau, Sarah Meyohas, Pamela Rosenkranz, and Timur Si-Qin—including several artists’ first work in AR. Visitors will engage with Seeing the Invisible via an app designed for the exhibition downloadable to smartphones and tablets. Forging new links between botanical gardens located in diverse biomes around the globe, the exhibition fosters collaboration between institutions, artists, and audiences, highlighting the power of art to connect people around the world.
The first exhibition of its kind to be developed as a collaboration among botanical gardens around the world, Seeing the Invisible was initiated by the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens and Outset Contemporary Art Fund, and is co-curated by Hadas Maor and Tal Michael Haring.
Seeing the Invisible will simultaneously premiere at:
- Denver Botanic Gardens (Denver, Colorado, USA)
- Eden Project (Cornwall, England)
- Jerusalem Botanical Gardens (Jerusalem, Israel)
- Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden (Cape Town, South Africa)
- Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (Sarasota, Florida, USA)
- Massachusetts Horticultural Society (Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA)
- Royal Botanical Gardens (Ontario, Canada)
- Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (Edinburgh, Scotland)
- Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Cranbourne Gardens (Cranbourne, Australia)
- Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Melbourne Gardens (Melbourne, Australia)
- San Diego Botanic Garden (San Diego, California, USA)
- Tucson Botanical Gardens (Tucson, Arizona, USA)
Seeing the Invisible places the same exhibition of commissioned artworks in analogous sites in 12 outdoor garden settings located in different biomes all around the world, creating parallels and contrasts between them. For example, the same work set within a group of tall Saguaro cacti in Tucson and among a lush forest of giant redwoods in Edinburgh. The AR nature of the exhibition allows for the creation of expansive, immersive works that engage with existing features of the natural landscape beyond the limitations of what is possible with physical artworks. Many of the works created for the exhibition will address related themes around nature, environment, sustainability, and explore the interplay of the physical world with the digital one.
Among the thirteen AR works created for Seeing the Invisible, highlights include El Anatsui’s first work in AR, adapting one of the artist’s iconic recycled bottle-top installations into an AR tapestry that shimmers gently as though moved by a soft wind; a new work by Sigalit Landau marking the artist’s first foray into AR, offering the viewer endless routes of investigation both around and inside the hidden creeks of a work inspired by the natural formation of a salt stalagmite; a new work by Jakob Kudsk Steensen revolving around the organic shape of a dried branch of cacti, furthering Steensen’s reexamination of desert as omens of life, rather than symbols of death; and a meticulous translation of Ai Weiwei’s Gilded Cage into AR, addressing issues related to power structures, habitats, borders, confinement, and restriction, but also caregiving, preservation, and nurturing.
Seeing the Invisible will feature AR works by the following artists:
- Ai Weiwei (b. 1957, Beijing, China; lives and works in Berlin Tempelhof Airport, Germany)
- Refik Anadol (b. 1985, Istanbul, Turkey; lives and works in Los Angeles, USA)
- El Anatsui (b. 1944, Anyako, Ghana; lives and works in Nigeria)
- Ori Gersht (b. 1967, Tel Aviv, Israel; lives and works in London, UK)
- Mohammed Kazem (b. 1969, Dubai, UAE; lives and works in Dubai, UAE)
- Sigalit Landau (b. 1969, Jerusalem, Israel; lives and works in Tel Aviv, Israel)
- Daito Manabe (b. 1976, Tokyo, Japan; lives and works in Tokyo, Japan)
- Sarah Meyohas (b. 1991, New York City, USA; lives and works in New York City, USA)
- Mel O’Callaghan (b. 1975, Sydney, Australia; lives and works in Paris, France)
- Pamela Rosenkranz (b. 1979, Switzerland; lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland)
- Timur Si-Qin (b. 1984; lives and works in New York City, USA)
- Jakob Kudsk Steensen (b. 1987, Denmark; lives and works in Berlin, Germany)
Head of Creative Programming at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Emma Nicolson said:
Installing Seeing the Invisible in the Gardens has been hugely rewarding. We’ve seen the Botanics in an entirely new light as artworks are discovered nestled between trees or arching over pathways and even in the case of Ai Weiwei’s work, redrawing the Edinburgh skyline. Not only does the exhibition showcase the work of these incredible artists, it encourages us to look more closely at the Gardens and appreciate the beauty and biodiversity of this unique setting. The opportunity to host such ambitious works of art whilst minimising the environmental impact closely aligns with our vision for the Climate House programme which explores the potential of art and science working hand in hand to further our appreciation and understanding of the natural world.
Seeing the Invisible will be accessible via smartphone and tablet through the Seeing the Invisible app, which is available for iPhone and Android in the App Store and Google Play.
This project has been made possible in partnership with The Jerusalem Foundation. Seeing the Invisible is co-curated by Hadas Maor and Tal Michael Haring, and organized by Jerusalem Botanical Gardens and Outset Contemporary Art Fund.