Botanical Opticals

New multi-media exhibition Botanical Opticals

The exhibition will reveal the remarkable secret life of flowers

Dates: 1 to 15 October 2021 (Closed on Monday)

Opening hours : 10.30am to 4pm. Free entry

New multi-media exhibition Botanical Opticals will reveal the remarkable secret life of flowers

·      Immersive multi-media art show by acclaimed British photographer Tim Platt features time-lapse imagery of flowers

·      Collaboration with audiovisual installation artist Benedict Braund of Global Overground uses cutting-edge technology to create a spectacular show

·      First exhibition of its kind in Norwich and designed to be fun for all ages and ideal for families

An exciting new exhibition called Botanical Opticals will use state-of-the art technology to bring a thrilling, immersive experience to Norwich.

The innovative multi-media exhibition uses light projection, music, video and photography to explore the secret world of flowers as they grow and bloom.

‘It will be a fun, experiential show bringing together time-lapse photography and cutting-edge audiovisual technology,’ says Tim Platt.

‘We’re hoping that visitors will be dazzled by the experience and find it a lot of fun. It’s bringing a completely new type of exhibition to Norwich and is designed to be enjoyed by everybody - whatever their age.’

‘We can’t wait to bring this exciting exhibition to The Crypt in Cathedral Close in Norwich. Dippy the Dinosaur is also on show in the Cathedral and our exhibition is also suitable for families wanting to make a day of it while they are in the Cathedral area,’ says Tim.

Botanical Opticals will be held in The Crypt Gallery, Norwich, 1 -15 October 2021. For this exhibition, Tim is working with audiovisual installation artist Benedict Braund from GlobalOverground.com who has recently moved to Norwich from London.

‘Together we’ll be creating a one-off, digitally-immersive experience. The installation will use cutting-edge technology called “3D mapping” and other unique and experimental interactive techniques,’ says Ben.

The Botanical Opticals series of both framed prints, and the sensational audiovisual installation at the Crypt exhibition in Norwich, have evolved from ideas explored during the development of Tim’s unique relaxation app called MOODLAPSE.

The exhibition prints will be for sale and unique to the show, although Tim’s prints are also available via his new online shop at Tim Platt Fine Art and MOODLAPSE can be found on the App Store.

The exhibition will feature large prints of kaleidoscopic abstract patterns created from photographs of flowers as they bloom, a high-resolution video installation and immersive, ambient soundscapes.

‘Combined with time-lapse videos of flowers and ambient soundscapes, the 3D projection-mapping digital technology will create an immersive multi-sensory real-world experience,’ says Tim. ‘It will connect with adults and children alike in a fun, new and immersive way and we’re excited to bring it to Norwich.’

For Tim Platt, photography is above all about the simple joy of seeing. After over 25 years experience of delivering international advertising campaigns for blue chip companies like Unilever, P&G, Samsung, LG, Britvic and GSK among many others, Tim has mastered the craft and technique required at the highest echelons of commercial photography. He still runs his own studio in central London, and he and his family have now enjoyed living in Norwich for 15 years. He believes that although craft and technique should not be underestimated, it is a mysterious neural connection between the eye and the brain that makes great images, and technique will always remain safely behind the scenes. Nowhere does this connection matter more than when an image is framed on a wall.

Over the last couple of years Tim has explored new creative directions, and developed a body of personal time-lapse video from a small studio in his garden while his London studio was closed during lockdown.

The Botanical Opticals series of both stills and video has evolved from ideas explored during this time.

Time-lapse dramatically telescopes a long period into a short period. For instance, two weeks of shooting an Allium flowering in a pot can be accelerated to five seconds. Tim describes this as: ‘a glimpse into the hidden world of slow-time.’

‘Plants look static to the human eye, but time-lapse photography reveals movement and transformation.’

‘In an era of global warming and climate change, it has never been more important to consider what is happening to the natural world in slow-time,’ says Tim. ‘I hope that at some level this work inspires us to think about how our world is transforming.’

Benedict Braund who has been commissioned to help deliver the Botanical Opticals show, has enjoyed national chart success with the track Rocket, championed by Pete Tong, Thomas Bangalter (Daft  Punk) & Fatboy Slim, as one half of the band Braund Reynolds.

He is also known for his score for Playstation’s Central Station, collaborations with leading music artists including Stereo MCs and a performance alongside Adamski at The Saatchi gallery’s Sweet Harmony:Rave an immersive exhibition about rave culture. He and his company Global Overground now embrace pan-platform digital experience delivery. He says 'Combining all the  technology that’s now so readily available with some  lateral thinking, imagination and good, old fashioned stagecraft has started up a whole new, super-exciting  chapter for us'. He has recently moved to Norwich.

Another fascination for Tim is our natural attraction to pattern and symmetry in the world around us. In post-production, he transformed the videos into abstract symmetrical patterns. The original flower images are stepped and repeated to create a mandala effect, an ancient spiritual symbol often used in sacred rites and meditation.

‘I started to arrange the time-lapse clips into symmetrical patterns and found the effects mesmerising,’ says Tim. ‘I have become fascinated by symmetry and the mandala archetype. I believe that it creates a primal and beneficial response in us humans. I’m not alone, the psychoanalyst Carl Jung thought so too!’

Tim has also used the mandala images to create an interactive wellbeing app called MOODLAPSE. The user taps, slides and tilts the screen to create beautiful kaleidoscopic videos of flowers blooming.

The moving patterns are combined with soothing ambient music, using binaural audio techniques created exclusively for the app by composer Derrick Van Heerden, who will also be contributing to the Botanical Opticals exhibition.

Van Heerden’s meditation music is designed to stimulate the brainwave frequencies that promote relaxation and wellbeing. ‘I specialise in music that contains epsilon, delta, theta, beta or gamma brainwave frequencies in the form of binaural beats or isochronic tones,’ says Van Heerden.

For more information contact press officer: email liz@lizhollis.co.uk or Tim Platt: email  tim@timplatt.co.uk