Maja Petrić Exhibition Uses Climate Data To Create Living Arctic Poppy Art
Artist Maja Petrić has unveiled a new exhibition that transforms real-time climate data into evolving works of art, using synthetic Arctic poppies arranged by a robotic system. The exhibition explores the intersection of technology, nature and environmental change, turning one of the world’s northernmost flowering plants into a visual representation of a warming planet.
Part of the broader The Glitched Sublime series, the exhibition draws inspiration from Arctic poppies and examines how technology can capture the atmosphere, memory and transformation of fragile ecosystems facing climate pressures.
Art, Technology And Nature Intertwined
Petrić, whose work frequently combines light, technology and immersive experiences, said the project reflects her ongoing interest in deepening humanity’s connection with nature.
“I’m an artist and I’m very much interested in evoking the experience of nature,” Petrić told Reuters at the HOFA Gallery in London’s Mayfair district.
“With light and technology I can create immersive and more alive engagement when it comes to a relationship with nature,” she added.
The exhibition combines artistic expression with environmental monitoring, creating artworks that continually evolve in response to changing climate conditions.
Robotic System Responds To Arctic Temperature Changes
One of the exhibition’s central installations, The Glitched Sublime: Arctic Poppies, features sculpted synthetic flowers displayed within illuminated lightboxes. These floral arrangements are not created by hand alone. Instead, a robotic arm responds to live Arctic climate data.
The system continuously monitors temperature anomalies in the Arctic. Whenever recorded temperatures exceed the average levels observed over the past three decades, the robot adds another synthetic poppy to the artwork.
“We have a robotic system that is monitoring the data, weather data,” Petrić explained. “Whenever it gets information about the temperature in the Arctic being higher than the average over the last 30 years, it does an action.”
As temperatures continue to fluctuate, the compositions grow and change, creating a visual record of environmental shifts occurring in real time.
Climate Deviations Become Artistic Marks
A second body of work, The Glitched Sublime: Deviations, extends the concept through digitally enhanced images derived from Petrić’s sculptural poppy installations.
In this series, a robotic system applies metallic pigments to each artwork. The quantity and intensity of the markings correspond directly to the severity of recorded climate deviations. As a result, environmental instability becomes physically embedded within the artwork itself.
Each piece is linked to a specific moment in time and includes accompanying climate data that documents the atmospheric conditions influencing its creation.
A Timestamp Of Environmental Change
According to Petrić, every artwork functions as both an aesthetic object and a record of climate history.
“It’s a timestamp, a fingerprint of that day and how the climate is getting worse,” she said. “The weather is making it more beautiful but in real time, we are losing the landscape.”
The exhibition highlights the paradox of environmental change, where visually striking artistic outcomes emerge from increasingly concerning climate trends.
Featured During SXSW London
The exhibition forms part of the inaugural SXSW London event, running from June 1 to June 6. The festival brings together technology, music, film and cultural programming across the city, creating a platform for discussions around innovation and creativity.
Through robotics, data visualisation and immersive design, Petrić’s latest work offers visitors a unique perspective on climate change, transforming scientific measurements into living artistic expressions that evolve alongside the environment they seek to represent.
With inputs from Reuters