Scroll Down

Stems

Site-specific light and sound installation inhabiting the centuries-old Platanus forest of the village of Belashtitsa.

See more about this project

Stems

Type: Interactive, Public, Lab
Location: Platanus forest, Belashtitsa
Date: September 2018
Art Concept, Light Design and Programming: Petko Tanchev

Sound Environment: Monikah | Technical consultants: Atanas Dinchev and Georgi Atanasov | Photographer and Videographer: Lina Krivoshieva

Stems is a site-specific light and sound installation inhabiting the centuries-old Platanus forest of Belashtitsa, Bulgaria. The grove is a natural wonder: once entirely cut down, the trees regenerated from their stumps and now rise nearly fifty meters high. This cycle of loss and renewal forms the foundation of the project’s vision. The work draws attention to the trees’ organic architecture and enduring vitality through light and sound, reimagining the forest as both a living monument and an artistic stage.

Stems is a project by SenseLab, implemented under the Chitalishta program of the Plovdiv 2019 – European Capital of Culture Foundation.

Immersive Shadows

At the base of each tree, parametrically controlled lights—programmed in TouchDesigner—interact in real time with an Ambisonics 360° audio system. Together they create shifting shadows, immersive soundscapes, and an evolving dialogue between sight and hearing. The installation transforms the forest into an abstract landscape where technology amplifies nature’s resilience.

Gallery

Light at the Roots

At nightfall, the Platanus forest transforms into a stage of shifting light and sound. Towering trunks become columns of shadow, their vast canopies resonating with layers of spatial audio. Viewers wander between the trees, surrounded by an environment that feels both intimate and monumental. The scale of the installation invites awe, while its subtle interplay of reflections and sounds creates a contemplative space where nature reveals itself in new and unexpected ways.

A Forest Reimagined

The Living Memory of Trees

The Platanus grove in Belashtitsa, near Plovdiv, is a protected natural landmark. Its trees rise up to fifty meters, but their height is not their only wonder. Once cut down entirely, the grove regenerates from its own stumps, multiplying into a dense forest with many trunks emerging from each root. This extraordinary history of destruction and rebirth grounds the vision of Stems, a light-and-sound installation developed for this unique environment.

Artistic Intervention

The project treats the forest as a living stage. Lighting fixtures are placed at the base of the trees and parametrically controlled through custom software built in TouchDesigner. Along the perimeter, an Ambisonics 360° audio system surrounds the site with spatial sound. The music is created by mixing field recordings with generative instruments. It is performed in Ableton Live and interacts dynamically with the shifting light, creating a dialogue between visual rhythm and sonic texture.

Immersive Experience

The installation unfolds as a gradual transformation. Light traces the contours of the trunks, shadows ripple through the leaves, and soundscapes evolve into abstract patterns of resonance. Visitors walk among the trees as if inside a breathing organism—immersed in an environment that blurs the line between natural growth and technological invention.

Meaning and Impact

Stems invites the audience to encounter the mythological forest through a new lens, where technology serves as an extension of perception rather than a distraction from it. The work emphasises the site’s resilience while opening space for reflection on cycles of destruction, growth, and transformation. It offers a shared experience of heightened awareness—an evening where art, technology, and nature converge to reveal the forest in an unexpected light.