Stately and serene, reaching upward to heaven while sheltering the earth below, trees have inspired painters, poets, dreamers and lovers from time immemorial.
Nowhere, perhaps is this as evident as in Provence, where verdant cypresses and Aleppo pines lining the azure landscape have served as muses for the likes of Matisse, Cezanne, and so many others.
Now, Provence welcomes a new kind of tree, not one of branches and leaves, but an illuminated one, artfully designed and installed by Synapse Audiovisuel.
Measuring 5.6-meters high (over 18-feet) and pixel mapped with Resolume, this tree is located in the 809 Social Club, a spot for tourists and locals alike in the heart of downtown La Garde. It sprouts from the center and extends on to the ceiling and on the wall in joyful, irregular patterns.
“The club was completely renovated and needed a new concept,” said Ludovic Lozano, Technical Sales Engineer for Synapse Audiovisuel. “Our client asked for something unique, but not overwhelming — something universal that could speak to everyone and not a particular theme.”
Responding to this request on the part of their client, the Synapse team, came up with the concept of the tree. “The idea came naturally when we started exploring ideas to tone down the square aspect of the space and create curved, organic shapes,” detailed Lozano. “This is why we designed a round center, while cleverly arranging the grid so that it gives maximum height to the whole without constraining the hoardings.”
To give shape and life to this idea, the team went for CHAUVET Professional LED strips “We regularly recommend and install ÉPIX fixtures and we know these led strips are super dynamic, easy-to-use.. As they are pixel-mapping ready, they were the ideal solution for this project. In total, we installed 56 EPIX Flex 20 which are 5-meter long and IP-rated, along with 12 EPIX Flex Drive and 6 EPIX Flex Boosts, which enable us to double the capacity of the driver.”
Aesthetically, the tree flows with a natural grace, but turning this artful vision into a reality required considerable effort and a lot of teamwork. Lozano credits a number of people with making the project a success, including Leny Pourcin (Technical Sales Engineer), Pierre Coulet (Carpentry Manager), David Mosseri (Installation Manager), Maxime Zouky (Installation Technician), Kamel Leuboss (Installation Technician), Gilles Cleduper (Installation Technician), Franck Santangelo (Installation Technician), and Quentin Detrez (Lightjockey at 809 and Installation Technician).
“This was a physically demanding job, we had teams permanently relaying themselves Monday through Thursday 24 hours a day,” said Lozano. ” In the end it was super rewarding. After working with the house lights on all this time, getting to see this beautiful lit tree come to life and completely change the perspective in the room was breathtaking.”
In a region where there is universal admiration for the timeless beauty of trees, everyone would agree!
