Trees produce annual growth rings within their trunks, hidden beneath their bark. The thickness and shape of the rings can vary, depending the health of the trees. Environmental changes such as fires, droughts, and pollution levels, as well as disease, all affect their appearance. The rings are visual documentation of the lives of trees. An art installation in the Fondation Cartier’s garden displays real-time data from two trees. Digital screens display a representation of their growth rings, as they change due to environmental conditions. The project is a collaboration between the artist Thijs Biersteker and the scientist/botanist Stefano Mancuso and his International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology. Find out more about this data art installation in this article with video from The Urban Letter.
