LONDON.- SALON, in collaboration with Marshmallow Laser Feast, hosts the world premiere of We Live in an Ocean of Air, a multi-sensory virtual reality installation that brings together art, science and technology, revealing the invisible but fundamental connections between the human and natural worlds.

Using cutting-edge technology, the work explores the invisible connection between plants and humans through breath, allowing the viewer to interact with an entire ecosystem around a giant sequoia tree – the largest living individual organism on the planet.

Incorporating breath sensors, heart rate monitors, binaural sound, scent dispersal systems and wind machines, We Live in an Ocean of Air extends the boundaries of experience design, offering an unparalleled level of immersion.

The breath and heart sensors track real-time breathing, encouraging reflection on our dependence on - and responsibility to - other organisms. Oxygen and carbon dioxide are made visible; with each exhale of your breath, the very essence of life is seen before you, while all around nature explodes in breathtaking light and colour.

Created in 2018, We Live in an Ocean of Air builds on earlier works by Marshmallow Laser Feast, including the award-winning Treehugger, winner of the Storyscapes Award at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, and In the Eyes of the Animal, which was shown at the 2015 Sundance Festival and received a Wired Audi Innovation Award in Experience Design.

Ersin Han Ersin of Marshmallow Laser Feast says: ‘In this and other works we have created, we are seeking to repair our broken connection with nature through the experience of art. From the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe, humanity’s dependence on the natural world is absolute, placing the audience in the centre of these ecosystems, we aim to bring them closer to an understanding of our interconnectivity.’

Philippa Adams, Director of Saatchi Gallery, says: ‘Saatchi Gallery has always worked with and supported artists who push boundaries, and this astonishing work by Marshmallow Laser Feast certainly does that, fusing technology with art to unlock new ways of understanding and experiencing the world around us.’

Barney Steel of Marshmallow Laser Feast says: ‘We live in an Ocean of Air can be experienced both individually and collectively; experience prioritised over passive contemplation. The wider gallery allows for multiple tiers of immersion, with large projection screens welcoming audiences into the heart of the environment, before expanding to reveal the scale of the digital forest that lies ahead.’

Ticket Price: £20 per person, £15 for concessions (minimum age 10)