Employing sight, smell, sound and touch, the Tokyo/London-based artist duo A.A. Murakami (the artists behind Studio Swine) has recently debuted a dynamic new multi-sensory experience London. Created especially for Burlington Gardens, Silent Fall builds on A.A. Murakami's practice of creating immersive experiences that blend the borders between technology and nature.
The installation coincided with the London launch of Superblue, the ground-breaking new venture dedicated to producing, presenting, and engaging audiences with experiential art, following the opening of the company's center in Miami in May 2021, and in New York in September 2021, in collaboration with The Shed.
'A.A. Murakami's practice drives us to contemplate nature and our relationship to it, in stimulating ways. Silent Fall is an extraordinary installation with which to launch Superblue in London and is representative of the kinds of single-work installations we are planning to bring to audiences around the world. We look forward to welcoming U.K. and international visitors alike to experience this new work', said Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, Superblue Cofounder and CEO.WW.com BROADWAY BEAT Wit
Silent Fall alludes to The Fall from Earthly Paradise, an allegory that finds fresh meaning in a time of increasing concern about an imminent environmental collapse. The installation ensconces audiences in a seemingly endless forest, engaging sight, smell, touch and sound to accentuate organic elements within an artificial construct. Mirrored on all sides, the installation gives an impression of infinite space, with trees with ivory-white branches stretching out to form a futuristic landscape. Visitors walk among the trees, each of which periodically produces misty bubbles, which serving as a metaphor of the transient nature of existence. As each bubble is caught by hand and bursts, it releases scents from nature's vast array of aromas, such as moss, rain and pine. Individually and collectively, the bubbles serve as a bouquet of scents that evoke the sensation of walking through a forest.
Silent Fall forms part of an ongoing body of work the artists have pioneered called 'Ephemeral Tech', which are installations that use sophisticated technology and engineering with an interface of ephemeral materials. The ethereal states of matter are experienced with all the senses, culminating in immersive environments where the boundaries between technology and natural forces are blurred to create new landscapes and unnatural phenomena.
As an experience, Silent Fall is slightly surreal, and entirely engrossing. I took my daughters, who are aged four and two, and both were enthralled by the environment. They enjoyed catching the bubbles and seeing the smoke wisp away. It was tricky to prise them away after our allocated fifteen minutes elapsed. I’ve promised to take them again.
For tickets, and to book, please visit: superblue.com/London/
A.A. Murakami, Silent Fall, 2021. Installation view of Superblue London, 12 Oct 2021-Summer 2022. © A.A. Murakami. Courtesy of Superblue.
A.A. Murakami, Silent Fall, 2021. Installation view of Superblue London, 12 Oct 2021-Summer 2022. © A.A. Murakami. Courtesy of Superblue.
