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ATMOSPHERIC FOREST. Public Lecture and VR Experience in Zurich

Public lecture series of Immersive Arts: Bodies, Space, Environments in the framework of The Immersive Arts Lecture Series for Spring semester 2023 will take place at Immersive Arts Space of Zurich University of the Arts on March 7 where Rasa Smite and international artists and lecturers will talk about their immersive projects and uncover connections between bodies, spaces and environments. The Opening Reception of “Atmospheric Forest”, an immersive VR show by Rasa Smite and Raitis Smite, will take place on March 8, at Immersive Arts Space of Zurich University of the Arts.

Rasa Smite, Raitis Smits. Atmospheric Forest (2020). Ecodata-Ecomedia-Ecoaesthetics (2017–2021). Photo Kristine Madjare.

Public lecture series of Immersive Arts: Bodies, Space, Environments in the framework of The Immersive Arts Lecture Series for Spring semester 2023 investigates artistic and design experiences in which humans, media and architectural spaces shape one another within the context of the built environment. Guest lecturers who come from the fields of digital arts, architecture, theater studies and the visual arts, from the ZHdK, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York), Haus der Elektronischen Künste (HEK, Basel) and the Technical University in Dresden. Lecture series will focus on specific artistic works from their practice, as a way to open up critical discussion around emerging paradigms of bodily experience in spatial computing environments, human-machine interactions in architectural spaces, and immersive experiences between human, technical and natural systems.

The Public Talk by Rasa Smite: On Atmospheric Forest will take place on Tuesday, March 7,17:15-18:30 at Kino Toni (Pfingstweidstr. 96, Zurich). Rasa Smite will talk about her project Atmospheric Forest. Atmospheric Forest visualizes the complex relations between a forest, climate change and the atmosphere. It is a result of a three-year artistic research project on Pfynwald, an ancient Alpine coniferous forest, suffering from drought, which Swiss scientists have turned into a 'living observatory',where scientists conduct research on volatile organic compounds emitted by trees and climate warming. The study visualizes the complex relationship between forests, climate change and the atmosphere.

All lectures can be followed via Live Stream

Rasa Smite is an artist, network researcher and cultural innovator, working with science and emerging technologies since the 90s. She is founding director of RIXC Center for New Media Culture in Riga, curator of its annual festivals, and a chief-editor of Acoustic Space – peer-reviewed publication series. She holds a PhD in sociology of culture and media (from Riga Stradins University, 2011), and MA in visual arts (from Arts Academy of Latvia, 2000). Currently she works as associate professor in the New Media Art programme at Liepaja University. She is the author of the books – “Creative Networks. In the Rear-View Mirror of Eastern European History”, published by Amsterdam Institute for Network Culture (2012), and “Talk to Me. Exploring Human-Plant Communication” (Published by RIXC, 2014). She is also author of numerous articles and co-editor of the Acoustic Space series issues.

As part of the Lecture Series, Atmospheric Forest VR Experience will be presented on March 8 at 18:15 (CET) in the Immersive Arts Space of ZHdK – Zurich University of the Arts (entrance via Förrlibuckstrasse 109), following immersive screening and VR experience will be continue with Apéro.

Along with an immersive screening, two headsets will be available for VR experience:

VR1 – to experience VR short-episodes (ca 5 min) – no pre-booking needed.

VR2 – for VR full-experience (ca 15 min) – please make booking here

Atmospheric Forest reveals patterns of this complexity by visualizing the data of volatile emissions and resin pressure in pine trees. To create the Atmospheric Forest, the scientific laser scanner was used to scan the Pfynwald in point cloud. The viewer can navigate through the emitting trees of virtual forest, observe the forest from the bottom up, and follow the path through the tree trunk to get far up above the emitting forest, experiencing the interactions between the terrestrial ecosystems and atmosphere.

Location map of Immersive Arts Space is available here

The Artwork Credits: “Atmospheric Forest (2020), VR immersive installation by Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits, is created as a part of research project “Ecodata–Ecomedia–Ecoaesthetics” (2017–2021), funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, hosted by the Academy of Art and Design FHNW Basel, and carried out by Yvonne Volkart (Principal Investigator), artists Marcus Maeder, Rasa Smite and Aline Veillat, in collaboration with scientists Arthur Gessler, Christian Ginzler, Andreas Rigling, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, and Kaisa Rissanen, WSL and University of Helsinki.