Take an expedition into the virtual Amazon and fly above the forest canopy with the harpy eagle, zoom along with the poison dart frog, wade through the water with caiman, and crawl across the jungle floor with the goliath spider. Inside Tumucumaque is a virtual reality experience that transports viewers inside a stylized realtime rendering of the largest tropical forest reserve on the planet to explore from a local’s perspective. Ultraviolet color spectra, super slow motion, visualizations of echo sounder locations and colour night vision as well as spatial 3D sound, are used to interpret the perception of animals as a sensual experience comprehensible for humans.

Our partners traveled to Tumumuque Mountains National Park in Brazil to film the Amazon rainforest in all its splendor. The stunning footage they captured served as the primary reference materials for the models and textures used in our 3D animations populating the tremendous 400 hectare virtual expanse.

All the visual elements present in Inside Tumucumaque are fully computer-generated and were meticulously crafted by hand. Most of the textures utilized in the renderings began as watercolor paintings. The paintings were scanned and applied to 3D models. Hundreds of models were scrutinized for accuracy. The illustrative style references natural science lexica. Scientifically supported by experts of the MfN Berlin, we recreated this hidden world.

The three-story, interactive installation premiered on 6 April 2018 at the ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. The exhibition was the latest in the center’s ongoing series titled “The Art of Immersion”, a program featuring contemporary work in the field of visualization and immersive experiences. Visitors to the space were invited to step into a simulated environment and undergo a multisensory transformation of their reality.

Using the latest possibilities of VR, science and research can be made sensually tangible in a previously unknown manner by immersive plunge in realistic simulated environments.

As an immersive empathy tool the VR Experience awakens curiosity and interest in scientific knowledge and contributes to a deeper understanding of the endangered biodiversity on our planet.