Eight new immersive experiences by artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer will transform the North Forest at Crystal Bridges
Bentonville, Arkansas – Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art’s North Forest will glow this year with the debut of Listening Forest, a new interactive exhibition featuring immersive installations by artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.
Listening Forest consists of eight site-specific audiovisual artworks installed along the North Forest trail at Crystal Bridges. The exhibition is designed to be experienced at night and will be on view from August 31, 2022, through January 1, 2023.
Lozano-Hemmer is an award-winning media artist originally from Mexico City. He creates platforms for public participation using technologies such as robotic lights, digital fountains, computer vision, artificial intelligence, and telematic networks. His work has been commissioned for events such as the Vancouver Olympics, collected by museums including MoMA, Hirshhorn, Tate, and SFMOMA, and exhibited in art biennials in Venice, Sydney, New Orleans, Shanghai, Istanbul, and Singapore, among others. Listening Forest will be the most significant display of his outdoor installations to date, providing a mid-career survey of his largest works.
In Listening Forest, Lozano-Hemmer creates artworks that respond to the visitor’s presence and participation, highlighting the unique physical characteristics of individuals while simultaneously creating connections between strangers and the landscape itself.
“Listening Forest promises to engage the audience in unique ways, whether it be by measuring their heart rate or body heat, analyzing their facial features, or sharing their own voice messages alongside curated oral histories,” Lozano-Hemmer said. “By combining art and technology, we are able to share our stories, create intimacy, and strengthen our sense of community. In Listening Forest, the public will be an integral part of the artwork.”
The exhibition will sense visitors and interact playfully and poetically with their participation. The installations highlight the interconnectedness of visitors in the forest and are aimed at creating feelings of wonder, joy, common purpose, and reflection.
