Become One with Nature in This Synthetic Installation

Oscar Wilde's ever-quipped quote, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life,” is harshly disproved in multimedia artist Pascual Sisto's latest solo exhibition, En Plein Air. This ambitious installation, which includes an Oculus Rift VR ‘natural’ environment, projected gobo stencils algorithmically generated, and a dye-infused carpet installed in the entirety of the space’s floor, art does its best to imitate life in its most natural order.

The show, currently on display at Brand New Gallery in Milan, bases itself on a very specific mimesis of nature. Every element in the installation relates itself in someway to the Gold Dust Laurel (or Aucuba Japonica ‘Variegata’), a small houseplant known for the abstract, gold markings that occur on its leaves. The origin of the Gold Dust Laurel is also of importance to the exhibition, being a plant that has been “produced in strict cultivation by selective breeding” according to the press release, as the variegation that causes the gold discoloration is effectively a mild disease that occurs within the plant.

For the show, the long halls and rooms of Brand New Gallery are cast in mild darkness, with the only light emanating within the space originating from scattered, projected balls of light meant to imitate the golden specs on the Gold Dust Laurel. Seemingly random, the projected specs are in fact based on a “synthesized version of the [Gold Dust Laurel] pattern” as per the press release, changing their size, geometric tendencies, and spatial qualities accordingly. Essentially, Sisto has managed to generate an algorithm that successfully replicates an element of nature’s randomness.

En Plein Air also makes use of more direct and synesthetic approaches in its reflection of nature. The installation incorporates scent, the often forgotten human sense when it comes to art, through an ultrasonic diffuser that releases a unique nature smell, developed by Sisto in collaboration with Air Variable, in sporadic intervals. Sound is another crucial element in the installation, with a customized soundscape emulating wildlife ambiance echoing throughout the gallery rooms.

To immerse yourself in Pascual Sisto’s simulation of natural order, visit Brand New Gallery through the end of this month. See more of Pascual Sisto’s multimedia works here.

Related:

Software Turns Your Trackpad Gestures into Painterly Brushstrokes

Now You Can Try Out the Picture Frame for Digital Art IRL

Meatballs Made of Bugs and Algae Still Look Good Enough to Eat