NACKA JOSHUA TREE

2019 Nacka, Sweden

The Nacka Joshua Tree is an interactive public sculpture designed and built by Mark Andreas and Sebastian Ziegler with help from other Videokaffe members for the city of Nacka .The inspiration for this project came from a camping trip into the California Mojave desert in June of 2019 by three Videokaffe members. Witnessing firsthand how yucca plants could live grow and flourish into a forest of trees in such a formidable desert environment, was instantly inspiring.

The artists wanted to bring a bizarre looking stranger tree from a foreign land that carries with it a symbol of resilience, wonder and harmony, plant it in Sweden and see how it grows.

As the Videokaffe artists are mostly sculptures and new media artists, they wanted to have their tree be able to interact with the people of Nacka through sound and light. Their thought was that sometimes the best way to get to know someone is to start a conversation so why not invite the public to talk with their Joshua Tree. The tree will listen to the viewers’ voice through microphones in its trunk. The sound of the human voice will affect a change in the color of the tree’s leave crowns.

The Nacka Joshua Tree is nearly 5 m tall and is made of a steel frame with wood for its bark.

If you are in Nacka, please stop by the park in front of the Nacka Stadshus and say Hej.