ulf mejergren visualizes surreal tree installations
From his pine bark cabin to its concert space inside a tree trunk, ulf mejergren has long explored the powers of nature, experimenting with the centuries-old practice of manipulating trees and vegetation to create immersive installations. Now, entering the digital realm, he presents a series of AI generated artworks that transform trees into a variety of surreal structures for the upcoming ‘Architecture After AI’ exhibition at the Mebane Gallery in Texas.
For the Tree Manipulation Series, with the help of halfway the architect intricately weaves roots and branches of birch and pine groves into giant playgrounds, whimsical watchtowers, and dense forests within forests.
horizontal branches covered with moss in the middle of a group of birch trees | all images by Ulf Mejergren
AI-generated play areas in forests and tundras
Using AI design tools, Ulf Mejergren’s Tree Manipulation Series features a series of trees that have become interactive art installations in his landscapes. Large in scale and with a surreal presence, they are scalable and habitable structures, most of which assume functions as lookouts or shelters in the depths of the forest.
The architect he twists apple trees into arbors that are situated in a garden setting, transforms wilder, stark compositions into desolate woodlands, and even fuses branches together to create playgrounds in barren ice-covered tundras. Some scenes show branches growing alongside other trees, while others rearrange entire stems, so they all have different time frames, from one year to fifty years or more, depending on the growing procedures. “Perhaps those projects that move away from a garden environment are the ones that are most interesting since the contrast is much greater with the untamed environment compared to an already tame garden”, he watches
grown birches in the form of a large cylindrical shelter
Ulf Mejergren continues: ‘This buffet of projects could hardly have been visualized if it weren’t for AI. With this new tool, a multitude of ideas and options can be visualized and evaluated before taking the final steps to turn them into reality, since guiding trees requires a lot of time and dedication. Therefore, it is crucial for the motivation to carry out a project like this to have a couple of good target images.’
a birch grove transformed into a playground by merging branches
a densely woven watchtower with shifted levels, almost like a vertical maze
a half-uprooted grove of birch trees entering through a hole in the root system – a forest within a forest