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Digital roots

London – Treehugger is a new virtual reality (VR) experience designed to change attitudes to conservation.

Commissioned by the Cinekid Foundation, STRP, Southbank Centre and Migrations, and created by Marshmallow Laser Feast
Marshmallow Laser Feast hopes the project will eventually consist of six chapters, each exploring a different variety of tree

Treehugger by Marshmallow Laser Feast, London

Using virtual reality, creative studio Marshmallow Laser Feast has transformed a fabric-covered pillar at the Southbank Centre into a giant sequoia tree. The Treehugger exhibition transports visitors into the tree’s nervous system so that they can better understand its eco-system.

Visitors are transported on a journey during which a thunderstorm erupts overhead, and as the raindrops fall they see the tree’s roots swell as it draws up the liquid, transporting it towards the canopy. By pressing their head against the pillar, participants are assimilated into the tree’s lymphatic system and move up with the droplets of water, lending a physicality to the experience.

‘We're trying to give people a new perception of trees as creatures just as vibrant and alive as we are,’ Ersinhan Ersin, creative director at Marshmallow Laser Feast, told Fast Company.

The Big Picture

In line with Whole-system Thinking, Marshmallow Laser Feast is adopting virtual reality to promote a stronger sense of attachment to the environment around us.