Danni Zheng Multi-sensory immersive artwork

Author : Lucille Enel
Published on : March 18, 2024

Danni Zheng, Growth, Blossoms, and Beyond, Installation details, 2023. Image courtesy : Lancôme

Growth, Blossoms, and Beyond subtly interweaves the human, natural, and socio-cultural worlds in an immersive virtual botanic garden. The viewer is placed in a botanic garden of the future by bringing them closer to the deep complexities of our fascinating world in the new media art installation. While they explore the wonders of nature, they can also observe closely the impact of climate change on the world and the environment, and understand the immense importance of biodiversity.

Through 360-degree panoramic projection animation, visitors are invited to step into the Growth, Blossoms, and Beyond, a world of vitality and tenacious floral growth. Roses, lichens, mushrooms, moss, and bio-materials build the objects that dotted the landscape, forming a botanic garden of the future. The artist gradually unfolds the life cycle of the diverse creatures and organisms in the garden with a dynamic visual narrative to present the powerful regeneration force of nature. This is an imagined future where organic life and synthetic creatures may coexist together.

Engaging the senses of sight, sound, and smell, the artist uses spatial sound and aromatherapy based on the legendary Lancôme perfume Mille et Une Roses to create a multi-sensory immersive experience. As the viewer walks in the space, their very being and movement will transform the auditory and visual projection in the installation so human’s impact on nature can be keenly conveyed. If the viewer remains stationary, the plants around them will be triggered to burst into bloom in abstract visual projection. However, if the viewer moves fast, their movement will result in the visual projection fading and leaving an empty hollow in the space of the previous floral landscape. If a crowd gathers in one space, they will provoke the reaction in auditory and visual projections to scale up, corresponding to the overloading pressure on nature.

Danni Zheng (b. 1997) is a new media artist and alumna of the Royal College of Art, currently based in London. Her artistic practice is rooted in her background in spatial design and encompasses a fusion of physical and virtual realms, utilizing mediums such as 3D animation, immersive experiences, live performances, and creative coding. With a recent focus on future world-building, Zheng’s work sparks contemplation on sustainable and speculative environments, intricately blending elements of nature, synthetic structures, and human interventions. Demonstrating her collaborative spirit, she has engaged in fruitful collaborations with a diverse range of creatives, while her innovative artworks have been showcased at prestigious venues in London, Shanghai, Miami, Brighton, and Hong Kong.