Cosmic Garden

Dina Fisher

Los Angeles, CA

Cosmic Garden is an audio-visual meditation on the transformation of starlight into conscious life on Earth. Together, a soundscape and light-animated mural narrate a tale of epic proportions. Our journey begins deep within the sun’s fiery core, where immense gravitational forces give birth to miniscule particles of luminosity, known as photons. After hundreds of thousands of years winding toward the sun’s surface, a photon extends outward at light speed towards Earth, where green leaves hungrily await. Nestled within foliage, microscopic powerhouses called chloroplasts act as miniature nuclear reactors, transmuting photons’ pure energy into sugar and oxygen, on which animals depend. In a beautiful dance of interconnection, animals reciprocate with each exhalation, molecularly transforming oxygen into carbon dioxide to replenish our botanical companions’ breath. This delicately balanced harmony took billions of years to evolve sentient life on Earth. Therefore, take a moment in the garden tonight. Gently tilt your head back, gaze up into the shimmering sea of countless suns, and offer heartfelt thanks to your extended self in the form of starlight, knowing we are all connected.

Pro Tip

Check out the installation from the Tower Garden boardwalk above; a ramp and stairs (behind the water feature) is available to access the tower.

Inside the Installation

Materials: dye sublimation printing on vinyl, red-green-blue-white LED light fixtures, DMX controls, sound, speakers

  1. The mural’s imagery comes alive with motion through the application of color theory. Images printed with one of three pure tints (magenta, cyan, or yellow) alternately disappear when illuminated with differing colors of light.

  2. Of the mural’s 50+ images, five were augmented using artificial-intelligence tools. Those five images include: the three large female faces, the center tree, and hands with eyes.

  3. Scientific notation appearing on the mural includes: chlorophyll molecular graph, Feynman electron-quark diagram, equation related to molecular conversion of light into sugar.

  4. Madison-area residents contributed written and spoken word craft for the soundscape. Organized by Erin Schneider, participants included local plants, poets, girl scouts, and community elders.

Artist Bio

Dina Fisher

Dina Fisher is a professional artist who works from her home studio nestled amidst boulders and towering cliffs in untamed foothills where Los Angeles kisses wilderness. Melding the passion of a life-long artist with discipline from a high-tech design career, her emotionally resonant artwork engages audiences with emerging technologies, novel design, and innovative use of materials. She believes public art has transformative power to lift a community’s gaze toward tomorrow’s promise. Notable recent commissions include an interactive art installation celebrating the Getty Center’s 25th Anniversary and permanent outdoor art for the cities of Burbank, California and Denton, Texas.