Introducing “The Digital Garden,” a contemporary art piece by Frank Bueltge. The installation features an enormous virtual garden projected onto the walls of the exhibition space, complete with blooming flowers, chirping birds, and swaying trees. The garden is an ever-changing digital ecosystem, with data sensors tracking real-time weather and temperature data to adjust the digital flora and fauna accordingly. Visitors to the exhibition feel as though they are wandering through a lush natural environment, but are constantly reminded of the digital artifice surrounding them.

Bueltge’s piece draws inspiration from the philosophy of simulacra, the concept that reality has been replaced by a simulation of reality. The Digital Garden presents a hyper-realistic depiction of nature, forcing the viewer to question the authenticity of their physical surroundings. By layering the virtual onto the physical, Bueltge highlights the increasingly blurred boundaries between real and fake in our digital age. The piece is on display starting today at the Tate Modern in London. Be sure to check out Bueltge’s previous work, “The Melting Clock,” which explores the fluidity of time. Check it out here.