20,000m2 artwork GROW by Daan Roosegaarde highlights the beauty of agriculture

Daan Roosegaarde’s latest artwork GROW is an homage to the beauty and importance of agriculture. In the world film premiere GROW appears as a luminous dreamscape. Red and blue lights wash like waves over an enormous field surrounded by darkness. The artwork is part of the artist-in-residence program of Rabobank and premieres today. GROW is inspired by science exploring how certain “recipes” of light can improve plants’ growth and resilience.

Most of the time we hardly notice the huge areas of the Earth which are literally feeding us. GROW highlights the importance of innovation in the agriculture system: How can cutting-edge light design help plants to grow more sustainably? How can we make the farmer the hero? GROW is an artwork and a prototype of a more sustainable way of growing food. It shines specific light recipes to show and enhance the beauty of agriculture.

GROW consists of a design-based light recipe which shines vertically across 20,000m2 of farmland with leek plants (Allium porrum). You experience the artwork as “dancing lights” across the huge agricultural field. The light is poetic, and inspired by photobiology light science technologies which have shown that certain recipes of blue, red, and ultraviolet light can enhance plant growth and reduce the use of pesticides by up to 50%.

The film GROW shows the development of this luminous dreamscape and how the beauty of light can help plants. It is also a call for enlightenment during these dark times. GROW can be good for nature but also sends hopeful light to people. It gives a new meaning to the word ‘agri-culture’ by reframing the landscape as a living cultural artwork.

GROW is part of the artist-in-residence program that  Rabobank has been hosting for a number of years. The program is based on the belief that, through the open exchange of ideas, employees and artists can learn from each other and make a positive contribution to society.

Daan Roosegaarde and his team of designers and experts developed GROW over two years, informed by expert knowledge sessions at Studio Roosegaarde, Wageningen University & Research, Springtij Forum, and the World Economic Forum in Davos. It is the first in a series of dreamscapes by Studio Roosegaarde which show the beauty of combining art and science to create a better world.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK-93fF3_Qk&feature=emb_title