Tree of Photon

Maker Faire Bay Area 2026

September 25th-27th

Tree of Photon is a light tree whose fiber-optic blossoms turn and change color when you embrace it.

Tree of Photon is a fusion of technology and nature, where photons - the building blocks of light - stand for the invisible energies that connect all life. The installation explores the quantum poetry of light, in which photons represent both scientific precision and metaphorical enlightenment. It bridges the gap between human touch and technological response, suggesting that in an era of digital isolation, physical contact can reignite communal bonds. When someone embraces the trunk, the tree answers: colors shift, the fiber-optic blossoms turn, and the canopy becomes a light show shaped by that person alone. A group embrace amplifies it further. The piece speaks to the idea that small actions, like a simple hug, ripple outward, altering the world around us and revealing our interconnectedness in an often chaotic universe.

Tree of Photon was built with support from a grant by Burning Man Project, with the City of Białystok and the Podlaskie Voivodeship (Poland) as main partners.

Physical Description
The installation takes the form of a stylized tree, with an aluminum structure rising 13 feet high and branching outward into an array of limbs spanning 10 feet in diameter. Each branch carries flower-like clusters made from bundles of fiber-optic wires, which rotate on motors, forming a voluminous, ethereal canopy that shimmers with multicolored light. Materials include aluminum, flexible fiber-optic cables for the light elements, RGBW LEDs, motors for kinetic motion, and integrated sensors for interactivity.
At night it becomes a beacon, casting dynamic, colorful glows across the surrounding landscape and drawing viewers in with its movement and radiant displays.