This installation is not possible without data: the way the flowers bloom according to real cycles on the peninsula, the randomness of the display to simulate nature’s unpredictability, and the direct interaction of the viewers with the installation. Without data it would have simply been a pre-recorded projection mapping or visual display - not a visceral experience.

Approximately 110 flowers bloomed a second at the original Kunisaki installation.

• 396,000 flowers per an hour

• 9,504,000 flowers per a day

• 475,200,000 flowers in the exhibition period. (50 days)

The installation attracted 60,000 people in Kunisaki, a small town that usually has a population only 1/10th that number, and is now a permanent exhibit there. It has toured Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong and New York bringing to life more than 2.3 billion flowers to date! In Tokyo alone, more than 300,000 people have attended thus far.

Flowers & People from Kunisaki is spreading and increasing its number globally

o 181,440,000 flowers generated in Tokyo

o 1,890,000 flowers generated in Hong Kong

o 34,020,000 flowers generated in Singapore

o 120,960,000 flowers generated in New York

o A running total of 504,630,000 flowers have been brought life as of 1st April 2015.

Earned media included three top TV programs, coverage in three magazines and more than 61 online media amplified the event with a media budget of ZERO.

“Mac Fan” magazine published an article on Microsoft Windows and devices and told its 100K readership to forget their iPhones and go see the true creative capabilities of Microsoft. Strong endorsement from influential fans of what is normally seen as the defacto leader of creative consumer technology.

The installation rendered images employed specific data methods to achieve a high level of pseudo-randomness of the visuals in order to portray nature accurately. Other methods to simulate randomness do so at such a low level that the resulting images would not reflect nature’s unpredictability.

• Seasonal bloom data combined with Markov Chain Monte Carlo Method algorithms realistically portray unpredictable flower growth in terms of positioning and volume grouping.

• Perlin Noise algorithms were employed in place of random number generators so that the direction of growth, size and bloom tendency accurately portrayed nature.

• A moving 3D curved surface is projected in the virtual space. An algorithm determines the curved surface of this space so it perpetually changes, never being the same curved surface twice. Flowers are born and placed on this ever-changing background. Flower positions are determined by an algorithm and react according to the status of the surface at that moment.

• We explore and reflect on man’s relationship with nature by using sensors that judged the distance between visitors and the flowers. The closer the visitor was to the flowers, the more accelerated the life cycle became until the death of the flower.

• When bringing together all the different methods of data capturing and processing, the art is able to create a compelling experience in-achievable by any one technique/technology on its own.