Digital forests meet physical reality in new installation
Artist Kevin Peter He led a workshop with students and discussed his work as part of the MIX Center’s Visiting Artist Residency. Photo by Jialong Xu
An extraordinary transformation is taking place at Arizona State University’s Media and Immersive eXperience, or MIX, Center.
What began as a performance piece exploring the relationship between nature and synthetic systems has evolved into a full immersive installation that challenges how we perceive both the natural and digital worlds.
Kevin Peter He, the Brooklyn-based, Shanghai-raised artist behind “Passage,” was selected as the inaugural artist for the MIX Center’s new Visiting Artist Residency program. This iteration of the installation represents not only its largest scale to date but also provides He the opportunity to share his knowledge with students and the broader ASU community through workshops and educational programming.
As part of the residency, He hosted a workshop with students at the MIX Center and led a community artist talk this week. The installation will be on display at the MIX Center Sept. 6–12, opening with a one-night-only (sold out) performance on Sept. 5.
“‘Passage’ is an evolving art project exploring the relationship between nature and man-made structures,” He said. “It’s taking a lot of different forms — originally it started as a performance, and I continue this line of live cinema performances to this day, collaborating with different musicians in different contexts.”
The project’s roots trace back to He’s upbringing in China’s metropolitan cities, where “nature was always sort of configured through policy and planning.” This exposure to manipulated ecology sparked deeper questions that inform his artistic practice. When He transitioned into 3D and digital artistry, he noticed nature had become a testing ground for pushing computational limits.
“I started to think about what would nature be when born in this synthetic and digital age,” He said. “‘Passage’ is essentially fictionalizing this concept into a speculative cybernetic forest that has its own operating logic.”
From performance to installation
The ASU installation represents a significant evolution from the performance origins of "Passage." While He continues presenting live cinema performances, collaborating with musicians in what he describes as “audio-visual jazz,” the installation format offers new possibilities for audience engagement.
“The installation at ASU is essentially adapting a linear, screen-based piece into a distributed perspective, time-based piece,” He said. “You get to experience the world not through a linear perspective, but through a more distributed spatial perspective.”
The four-screen configuration creates multiple engagement layers. From a distance, viewers can take in the entire panoramic scenery at once. Step closer to the sculptural elements, however, and the experience becomes intimate and selective — visitors must physically turn their heads and choose where to direct their attention.
“There’s kind of a ‘choose your own adventure’ quality to it,” He said.
Technical innovation at scale
The MIX Center’s facilities have enabled He and collaborators Eric Chang and Rob Ruth to realize “Passage” at its largest scale yet. The team is utilizing virtually every resource the center offers — from the Fab Lab’s 3D printing capabilities to the Production Studio’s metalworking tools.
“We’re building sculptures in the Fab Lab, we’re 3D printing, we’re experimenting with Kinect interactivity, we’re also putting the real-time simulation up on big screens,” He said. “We’re really spoiled here in terms of the resources.”
The sculptural elements embody the project’s central concept: tree-like forms crafted entirely from synthetic materials. The team intentionally sculpted resin portions to look organic while hammering and bending metal pipes to mimic natural growth patterns.
Educational impact
For He, working within an educational institution as the MIX Center’s fist visiting artist offers crucial opportunities for both artists and students.
“Technology is kind of an agnostic tool,” he said. “Oftentimes when you’re learning about these technologies, you can box into ‘this is how it’s meant to be used,’ but presenting all these different elements together can show people that technology can be used in different ways.”
The residency program represents the MIX Center’s commitment to bridging professional artistic practice with educational opportunity. Through workshops and community engagement, He’s residency establishes a model for how visiting artists can contribute to the academic environment while advancing their own work.
“It’s really fascinating to see how the technology he uses aids him in what he’s doing,” said Liliana Lopez, an experience design graduate student in The Design School who attended the student workshop with He. “I feel really lucky to be able to interact with him and his art on such a one-on-one level. It feels so personal, and I’m absorbing so much more than I would in, say, a Zoom call or a lecture with 120 people, so I’m really grateful.”
Mikale Kaminer, an extended reality technologies graduate student in The GAME School, said attending the workshop was an incredible experience.
“I just really love to get that sort of insight from an industry professional who’s really breaking ground making their own path,” Kaminer said.
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