"80 million years in the trees": project description

This multimedia installation consists of seven screens arranged vertically.

The two large screens.

One of the two large screens presents video images in black and white of trees, branches and branching, roots, fallen trees, sawed off stumps ... in a word the complexity of everything that lives and grows around trees.

Computer-generated, abstract images appear on the other screen. Every 12 sec. a unique image is generated. 12 sec. is the maximum time between two consecutive thoughts in a person in deep meditation.

Every image of this will be sent to this website during the presentation of the installation.

In this gallery you can already see the generated images produced during the first performance of this installation in Halle between September 6 and 22, 2024.

Each abstract image is unique and consists of 2000 elements. Each image requires 800,000 calculations.

The computer code is by Joseph Denavas and was originally programmed in p5.js. A conversion to openFrameWorks in C++ was done for this installation.

3 smaller screens

The 3 smaller screens present:

• Quotes from Buddha Shakyamuni in Salayatana Samyutta 35.82, the “Lokapanha sutta,” “A question about the world.”
• Images recorded at night of a flowing river among the trees
• A contemporary version of the Dharma wheel, programmed in Processing.

The two smallest screens (tablet and smartphone)

• The quotes of Buddha in French (or English, or another language according to the context of the performance)
• The main loop of the big screen in stop-motion version

Sound

The installation is completed with ambient sounds of conversations between people recorded on the street using the binaural technique. Using this technique, sounds are placed in three dimensions, giving the listener a fully immersive experience. Binaural audio places the listener in the center of the recording location, creating a 360° bubble of sonic loveliness to enjoy.