Thijs Biersteker

Thijs Biersteker is an artist renowned for his data-driven artworks that transform complex environmental research into immersive installations and experiences. His projects combine scientific data with recycled plastics, kinetic plants, biodiversity datasets, and living trees equipped with sensors and artificial intelligence. This unique approach allows people to visualise the real-world impacts on biodiversity and the health of our planet. Each installation is constructed sustainably and comes with a material passport to ensure circularity and traceability.

Created collaboratively by Bierstekar and our Qidong workshop, Forestate is a custom art installation at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. It depicts the changes in China's forest area and the recovery process guided by the concept of "ecological civilisation construction." The title " is a blend of the words' forest' and 'state,' and aims to convey the current data and ecological status of forests at this moment in time.

The installation appears to "grow" from the ceiling of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Its white structure and silver lines not only reflect the natural growth patterns of plants and trees but also create a technologically advanced, data-driven atmosphere. This makes the installation more than just a piece of art; it is a dynamic data entity that holds both artistic value and significance. Through the appearance and disappearance of leaves, Forestate visually represents forest destruction, regeneration, and recovery, allowing audiences to experience both loss and hope. These dynamic changes intuitively convey data validated by UNESCO.

The imagery of leaves serves as the central theme of this work. Each leaf represents approximately 9 square metres of restored forest, symbolising our connection to and dependence on forests, as well as the countless lives that thrive in healthy forest ecosystems. The design of the leaves features a mix of plant forms, blending characteristics of native Chinese plants with global plant imagery. It incorporates morphological traits from various Araceae species, including Epipremnum aureum (golden pothos), Rhaphidophora decursiva, and Remusatia vivipara. This design conveys the idea that humanity is part of a global ecological system.

The data for this work is sourced from "Ecological Civilisation Construction in China" dataset, provided by the UNESCO Beijing Office. This dataset was compiled under the guidance of Shahbaz Khan, the Director and Representative of the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, and Ai Sugiura, a Natural Sciences Programme Specialist. It has been reviewed and confirmed by the Coordinator of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme. The dataset vividly illustrates the rapid recovery of China's forests over the past 39 years.