A 300-Year-Old Tree Roots Itself in Dallas (Sort of)

For 300 years, the most isolated tree in the world sat alone in the Sahara, more than 250 miles away from any other. The acacia survived the harsh, dry conditions of the desert by driving its roots more than 100 feet into the ground. If you have not guessed, this tree no longer exists-not living anyway. In 1973, the only physical landmark for miles, the sacred Ténéré Tree met a (presumably) drunk driver. The sacred tree that was used as a gathering place for nomadic tribes, the marker in the vast desert for three centuries years, was lost in an instant.  

There are a few lessons here that are worth exploring, tradition vs modernity, man vs nature, or technology vs nature. For now, we will focus on technology vs nature. In 2017, Studio DRIFT debuted a massive tribute to the fallen tree and flipped the usual exploration of the narrative conflict of technology vs nature in contemporary art. Their Tree of Ténéré draws inspiration from the historic acacia but does not attempt to recreate what was lost. Instead, presents a vision of technology that mimics nature and honors its origins. Standing at 33 feet tall, with over 12,000 leaves, 75,000 LEDs, 120 branches, and 840 twigs, and weighing 22,046 pounds (about the weight of a school bus), the Tree will form a permanent light sculpture located in the outdoor walkway of The Epic Dallas. Until yesterday, the installation was only ever seen before the public at Burning Man in 2017. Now, with the additional help of Goldman Global Arts for Westdale Real Estate Investment and Management, the sculpture is a permanent part of the Dallas landscape and better for it.  

We were able to catch Ralph Nauta of Studio DRIFT to talk about the creation and inspiration behind the Tree of Ténéré:  

Patron: Can you talk about the journey the Tree of Ténéré took debuting at Burning Man to being installed in Dallas?  
 

Ralph Nauta: For Tree of Ténéré, we took inspiration from the Tree of Ténéré in Africa. The tree functioned as a symbol of life, withstanding the harsh conditions of the desert, and bringing travelers together as they witnessed the lonely tree. In collaboration with tech visionaries Marc Slee and Zachary Smith, we created a new Tree of Ténéré in the desert of Black Rock City at Burning Man 2017. 

With the Tree, we wanted to create a space in which the Burning Man audience could come together and cultivate a shared state of mind through a shared experience. The scale of the Tree in combination with the light choreography impressed the audience of Burning Man. People responded to their natural instinct and climbed the tree, much like how we wanted to climb the tallest tree when we were kids. The Tree provided a space of profound calmness, in which people reconnected with their selves and their environment. During the festival, we even received word that a couple proposed under the luminous performance of the tree.  
 

For Dallas, Tree of Ténéré has been re-developed to more closely resemble natural trees. Over a period of three years DRIFT has redeveloped the algorithm. This latest installation uses a unique digital modelling method. This digital modelling simulates the growth of trees as in nature. 

It incorporates many factors such as location, gravity, and the incidence of light. Because of this, the Tree is unique to Dallas and stands tall as an homage to the willpower of life in nature.  
 

P: Dallas is on its 643rd day since the pandemic began, it has been a wild ride of isolation and reunion. From what I understand the Tree reacts to the audience around it. What is the difference between an audience of one and an audience of many?  

RN: DRIFT created the content for the light patterns and programming of the tree. The Tree of Ténéré in Dallas closely resembles real trees. Much like real trees, the Tree in Dallas’ is influenced by sunlight and the wind, rather than the audience around it. The Tree’s light choreography changes based on these natural conditions, creating a unique performance every day.  

Real trees inhale oxygen at night and release oxygen during the day. Tree of Ténéré mimics this natural breathing cycle of real trees: when the night routine ends, Tree of Ténéré exhales, and slowly dims all its light. At sunset, the Tree inhales, slowly attaining energy and flourishing, full of light. 

P: Are there any special or rare reactions from the tree that people should keep an eye on?  

RN: Much like natural trees that get disturbed in a storm, Tree of Ténéré becomes restless in stormy weather. The algorithm responds to sunlight and wind, extreme factors in case of a storm. The light patterns become frantic, with shadows rushing along the Tree’s luminous leaves. This resembles real trees in a storm, gusts of wind creating patterns in the leaves by blowing them everywhere. 
 

P: The Tree of Ténéré is an absolute marvel, how many people had their hands in creating it?  

RN: The Tree of Ténéré is an extremely large installation, consisting of over 75.000 LED lights and weighing in at 15.000 Kilos without it roots. It required a large team with a wide variety of responsibilities. A welder, decorators, electronic experts, programmers, twig makers, an adhesive specialist, and the list goes on. The team operates in multiple locations, some work in Dallas, and people of the Goldman team were working in Miami. In total, around 40 people were working on the project. 
 

P: Are there any future DRIFT installations in the works for Dallas? 

RN: We currently do not have any other project planned in Dallas but are working on a project for the Rockefeller Center in New York. The Rockefeller Center commissioned our work Amplitude as their first permanent art commission since 1978. Amplitude is a tribute to the human desire of flight. Individual glass tubes move in a pulse reminiscent of the pulse that occurs in nature. Together the individual glass wings form one living entity and resemble a bird flying in slow-motion.