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MEMORY OF A BAOBAB TREE

Project Site: in praise of all Baobab trees / 2020

Virtual Reality Project

Critics: Miriam Peterson (research), Jason Kim (VR)

There’s something magical about a baobab tree. Living on vast savannas with extreme seasons of rain and drought, a baobab tree uses its body to store water, carry lives and endure fire.

This project includes two distinct story-telling explorations based on a baobab tree’s biological and ecological relationship with its environment. The first exploration is a 100-foot long drawing representing the scientific data about a baobab tree; the second exploration is a VR world created around a baobab tree and its memories frozen in time. With each portal leading to a piece of memory, the VR world constructs an interactive story told by an old, generous tree.

Baobab 1.jpg

Research: Cycles around a baobab tree

100” x 6” drawing

A drawing describing the 4 time cycles in the life of a baobab tree:

- its flowers grow and die in a cycle of 24 hours;

- its cambium cells and trunks grow, swell and harden in the 

  seasonal cycle of rain and savanna fires.

- its carbon feedback to the environment in a cycle of 365 days;

- its relationship with all the lives it supports, feeds, gives birth to 

  and protects.

Baobab 2.jpg
Baobab 3.jpg
Baobab 4.jpg
Baobab 5.jpg
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