Project Atrium: Thijs Biersteker

Thijs Biersteker has developed an art practice collaborating with scientists and institutions to make the ecological challenges facing us more accessible, understandable, and relatable through art. He and his team work with universities, research groups, and companies to weave together humanity, technology, and ecology into interactive experiences that turn the invisible impact we have on the planet visible to create change. Topics like climate change, air pollution, deforestation, and biodiversity loss are turned into tangible experiences. His work is renowned for its fluid mixture of data, sensors, living trees, data visualizations, recycled plastics, artificial intelligence, and plant intelligence.

For his Project Atrium installation, Biersteker is highlighting the story of the mangroves, their migration from the south and their role as guardians, protecting us from the effects of sea level rise, coastal erosion, and the impacts of floods and storms. At the center of the Atrium space, a massive mangrove sculpture will disappear and reappear using scientific data indicating the speed at which mangroves have disappeared and are now reappearing in the environment. This data-driven experience will incorporate student research born out of a collaborative partnership between Biersteker the UNF Institute of Environmental Research.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Biersteker is an advisor in Art & Ethics at Delft Technical University, and Fellow at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, where he most recently collaborated with the Department of Computer Science to produce Fungal Faculty, 2023, an AI-powered artwork aiming to rewire our perception of intelligence. He is recipient of the prestigious Lumen Prize for digital art (2017), and has been nominated for the Stars Prize from Ars Electronica, the New Technology Art Award and many more. He has exhibited at Foundation Cartier pour l’art contemporain Paris, France; Today Art Museum, Beijing, China; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Science Gallery, Dublin, Ireland; South by Southwest, Austin, Texas; and the Barbican Centre, London, Great Britain, among others. A frequent speaker at international conferences, congresses, and the UN, Thijs most recently presented Forestate at the 2026 Davos World Economic Forum, a time-based sculpture developed in collaboration with UNESCO, and built on UNESCO-validated Global Forest Watch Data.

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Fungal Faculty

An AI-powered mushroom artwork, Fungal Faculty aims to rewire our perception of intelligence. Created in collaboration with the Computational Intelligence Group at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the work explores how communication, learning, and decision-making extend beyond humans and animals. Through an evolving exchange between artificial intelligence and the natural world, visitors are invited to reconsider intelligence as a collective process rather than an individual trait.

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© Thijs Biersteker Fungal Faculty, 2023, Courtesy of the artist. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions (World Economic Forum), Tianjin, China, June 2025.

Econtinuum

Under the forest floor, trees communicate and share nutrients with each other to keep the forest healthy as one. Econtinuum uses scientific data of tree communication to mimic the electric and chemical chatter of trees. Through two giant transparent root structures, sensors measure air quality, humidity, CO2 levels, and volatile organic compounds in the room, generating a conversation between two eco-AIs as if they were communicating beneath the forest floor. Visitors are invited to take part in this exchange, experiencing the work's central lesson: together we are stronger.

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© Thijs Biersteker Econtinuum, 2020, Courtesy of the artist. Originally commissioned by Nxt Museum, Amsterdam.

Wither

Wither makes visible the impact of drought on trees. Using live environmental data, the sculpture responds to changing conditions, revealing the stress that rising temperatures and water scarcity place on ecosystems around the world. By translating scientific research into a tangible experience, the work invites visitors to consider the growing effects of climate change on the natural systems upon which all life depends.

Learn more about Wither.

© Thijs Biersteker Wither, 2021, Courtesy of the artist. Project realized in collaboration with UNESCO; presented at the Barbican Centre, London, 2022 and the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, 2025, among others.