Most of our cities are concrete jungles these days and lush green surroundings are not always easy to come by. Offering an avenue to plunge into a realm of greenery without having to venture far from the city, Into the Wild: An Immersive Virtual Adventure at the ArtScience Museum, Singapore is a skilful combination of nature, art and technology.
In the exhibition that began earlier this month, 1,000 sq ft of public space has been transformed into a virtual rainforest that can be explored by visitors using a smartphone device. The latest permanent development is a collaboration among Google, Lenovo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Singaporean artist Brian Gothong Tan, in association with Panasonic and Qualcomm. Into the Wild was made possible owing to cutting-edge technology and stunning virtual reality (VR) content developed by digital creative agency, MediaMonks. It aims to emphasise the urgency of rainforest conservation in Southeast Asia while highlighting the fragility of natural habitats for animals such as pangolins, tapirs, mouse deers, orangutans and tigers, by “seeing” them in this virtual environment.
“In a time of rampant deforestation in Southeast Asia, Into the Wild sends a critical conservation call for the growth and renewal of our natural environment. Only with collective action can we effect positive change, restore rainforest biodiversity, protect tiger habitats and transform the lives of communities and millions across West Sumatra and Riau,” said Elaine Tan, chief executive officer of WWF Singapore.
The VR experience begins at basement 2 of the museum, whereby visitors will step into the role of a ranger by operating Lenovo’s Phab 2 Pro, the world’s first Tango-enabled smartphone, powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™652. In this section of the digital world, they will encounter some of the key inhabitants of the Southeast Asian rainforest and learn about the imminent dangers they face. Visitors will be presented with the opportunity to observe animals in their natural habitat and take action to defend the natural environment from destruction. The VR adventure will continue throughout the museum all the way to level 4.
The experience, however, does not end there — at level 4, visitor are invited to play an active role in replanting the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Highlighting the importance of social responsibility, an actual tree will be planted in a rainforest in Indonesia for every virtual tree planted here (and accompanied with a pledge to WWF).
Into the Wild culminates with a cinematic experience directed by Tan, who is inspired by the work of explorer and naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Mexican mural painter, Diego Rivera. The artist is known for his award-winning films and his visually stunning spectacles at events like Singapore’s National Day Parade.
Tan uses state-of-the-art animation and projection-mapping techniques to create a portal through which visitors pass from the VR of the smartphone adventure into a thought-provoking film that depicts the fragile habitat of the five protagonists featured in the virtual adventure — pangolins, tapirs, mouse deers, orangutans and tigers.
The film eloquently animates the animals’ journey from creation to destruction and rebirth in an epic projection. For a healthy dose of reality check the installation is accompanied by six monitors, each with real-world data about the forests of Southeast Asia, and the animals that live in them, which will hopefully prompt visitors to be more mindful of the environment that they live in.
Into the Wild: An Immersive Virtual Adventure is available for free to all ArtScience Museum visitors. Visit www.marinabaysands.com/ArtScienceMuseum for more.