Luminous Vines
Geoffrey Hicks
About the piece: Luminous Vines is an interactive light installation that weaves glowing vine-like forms through the air, creating a suspended network of living light within the urban landscape. Stretching between trees and surrounding structures, the illuminated vines form a softly radiant environment that visitors can move through and activate. In its resting state, the installation emits a warm, organic glow inspired by natural plant tones. Subtle green light moves slowly through the network, allowing the work to feel calm and present within the night environment and integrated with its surroundings. The installation is constructed from modular strands of low-power, pixel-mapped LED lighting connected using custom-designed structural components. The LED strands are produced by a leading lighting manufacturer to specifications developed for this project, ensuring durability and consistency for extended outdoor use. Together, the LEDs, wiring, and connectors form a semi-rigid system that can bend and hold natural curves across long spans. Structural elements remain visible and are finished in natural tones so the technical framework reads as part of the vine itself both day and night. Visitors activate the installation through touch. Hanging vine ends positioned within reach invite gentle interaction. When a vine is pulled or set into motion, pulses of bright color travel along its length, sending ripples of light through the network. Each vine responds independently, allowing multiple visitors to create overlapping waves of movement and color. Each vine contains a custom sensing module housed within a purpose-built enclosure designed to integrate visually with the vine structure. These sculptural housings are positioned near the hanging ends where interaction occurs, allowing the system to respond directly to movement. Internally, each module contains a weather-sealed, Ethernet-powered sensing node with electronics fully encapsulated for reliable outdoor operation over extended exhibition periods. Luminous Vines invites curiosity, tactile exploration, and shared discovery. The work functions as both a calm ambient environment and a responsive interactive system, creating an evolving field of light shaped by public participation.
About the artist: He is a New York–based artist and creative technologist working with light, interaction, and engineered systems for public space. His practice focuses on creating immersive environments that respond to human presence through custom lighting, sensing technologies, and real-time control systems. He works across sculpture, installation, and media-based projects, often developing custom hardware and software to support durable, long-term public presentation.
His temporary light installations have been presented at the Napa Lighted Art Festival (CA), Georgetown Glow (Washington, D.C.), and Glow Nights in Jackson Hole (WY). In addition to festival work, he has designed and installed permanent light installations in public facilities in California, New York, Maryland, Texas, and Oklahoma, with a new installation currently in development in Connecticut.
Through his studio, OptArt LLC, he also designs and produces commercial projection mapping installations, ultra–high-resolution LED wall systems, and other custom engineered media environments. Across both artistic and commercial projects, his work emphasizes thoughtful fabrication, safe public interaction, and reliable performance in outdoor and high-traffic settings.