AMAZONIUM
Showcasing the power of protecting areas by moving based on the data of deforestation and reforestation in the Amazon.
in collaboration with UNESCO and LVMH
Amazonium is an immersive art installation that showcases the power of protecting areas. The artwork moves entirely based on the data of deforestation and reforestation in the Amazon.
The work is an interactive sculpture of rainforest-shaped fabrics driven by data from the Amazon Basin that has been collected over the years. The forest-themed fabrics move up and down, embracing you as if you were inside the jungle, then falling away to let you experience the emptiness of deforestation. They then slowly rise again, visualizing the data from a UNESCO-protected area that is supported by LVMH.
Amazonium is made in collaboration with scientist Paulo Eduardo Massoca from Indiana University Bloomington, under the guidance of the UNESCO MAB programme and supported by LVMH.
Its main purpose is to make people feel the facts of what is happening in the hidden parts of the Amazonian rainforest. As the fabrics move up and down like protest banners it is a reminder of the loss and gain of rainforest that is in continuous motion, and can not slip our attention one moment.
Recycled steel trees, sustainable woven fabrics, and LVMH dead-stock fabrics come together in this 6x6 meter interactive sculpture that has an elegant motion.
Following the data, that is shown on the small screens in the gigantic work, the fabric panels elegantly move in a dance of destruction and regeneration. Emphasised by smell and sound the work provides a glimpse into the issues happening in one of the most important areas of the planet.
“The motion from being embraced, encapsulated into the jungle to standing in a naked nothingness of deforestation is an experience that turns the distant deforestation data into an emotional experience. This is something that I wanted to translate and communicate with the artwork ‘Amazonium’.”
Amazonium reflects the urgency of the issue and provides a glimpse of hope in showcasing the areas of reforestation that have been achieved by the protection and education happening in those areas. The work embodies the feeling that resulted from a mission where the artist, the UNESCO MAB team and LVMH visited protected sites in the Amazonian rainforest.
Commissioned by
UNESCO & LVMH
Data partner
UNESCO
Artist
Thijs Biersteker
Scientific Lead
Paulo Eduardo Massoca - Indiana University Bloomington, Meriem Bouamrane - UNESCO
Sustainably produced at
Woven Studio
Studio Director
Sophie de Krom
Technical Engineer
Tom Bekkers, Denisa Půbalová
Technical build
Thijs Biersteker, Bastiaan Kennedy
Soundscape
End of Time
Fabrics by
Nona Source, ByBorre
Seamstresses
Małgorzata Vicente, Lilla Baksay
Technical Assistants
Tomáš Potůček, Theo Rekelhof, Robin Vrugt, Storm van Gils
With special thanks to
Alexandre Capelli, Nona Source, Matthieu Guével, Ed Douwes, Tyler van Gelder, Anna Juncadella, Kim Bénéroso Ponsin, Carlos Gangoso, UNESCO Brazil team.
Research and
collaboration
Press
and
Awards