Entwined Meadow

Entwined: Elder Mother 2023-2024 // Delight Yourself in a Magical Shared Experience! //

Entwined Meadow, an artistic installation by Charles Gadeken, was launched in the winter of 2020 and has returned every winter. Now plans to return December 7th, 2023, in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park on JFK Drive. The public installation is made possible by the San Francisco Parks Alliance and San Francisco Parks and Recreation.

Entwined: Elder Mother 2023-24

Entwined is thrilled to return to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco for another year! The installation will launch on December 7th, with the Park’s annual tree lighting ceremony until April 28, 2024. 

This year, the immersive, illuminated array of sculptures will be in a new location. In Peacock Meadow since 2020, the new flora arrangement will be displayed on JFK Drive just east of the Meadow.  

Welcome Elder Mother: a new awe-inspiring 30-ft tall tree with a 25-ft wide canopy and over 3000 individually addressable LED cubes. Elder Mother, the mother of all trees, will dazzle visitors as the centerpiece of the Entwined installation. Elder Mother first debuted at Burning Man 2023 with support from a Burning Man art honorarium. 

Inspired by a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, the Elder-Tree-Mother, a tree grew from a teapot beside a sick child’s bed where the imaginary Elder-Tree-Mother appeared and told the boy stories, and they went on adventures and shared experiences. Elder Mother also shares stories and hosts over 26 hours of folklore, fairy tales, and personal anecdotes across 24 different languages that will be played on a loop, immersing the tree via 6 speaker units. Join us on an exploration and adventure under the shade or light of a magical tree!

Interactivity: Entwined: Elder Mother will have 6 unique QR codes across the installation that allow attendees to control the lighting patterns of various sculptures. Occasionally, access to Elder Mother's interactivity will be available, which allows attendees to engage with RFID tag readers to change Elder Mother's lighting patterns. 

Events at Entwined: Monthly events and activities will be held at the installation on various dates, starting with the tree-lighting ceremony. Please stay tuned for event announcements at the San Francisco Parks Alliance website. 

• Entwined Meadow 2022-23 Details

// Charles Gadeken’s forest of illuminated color will once again light up Peacock Meadow this winter with new features, upgrades and creative programming, immersing park visitors in a realm of art, technology, and nature //

This year, a goal is to fix, refine and expand the work. We’re building and integrating larger, more reinforced bases for many of the sculptures, reinforcing branches, further weatherproofing electronics for many sculpture pieces, and upgrading all lighting controls software.

New sculptural artworks will be added this year, including a “fallen tree”, doubling as a seating area, “sapling” trees with hidden “world tree knots” showcasing surprise miniature artworks by local artists and integration of enhanced interactivity. These additions build upon the new and expanded elements that debuted last year.

QR codes will be embedded on several sculptural pieces to invite the public to create their own lighting experience and patterns - a fan favorite feature that now offers greater experimentation of patterns, colors, tempos, and sequencing. A new sound system will introduce omnidirectional sound and a variety of intermittent immersive sound experiences.

• Entwined Meadow 2021-22 Details

This year attendees can look forward to an augmented immersive and sophisticated experience with more refined designs, sculptural elements, and interactivity. The overall composition has evolved to include two large trees standing 15 to 20 feet tall, ten new medium-sized trees ranging in height from 8 to 14 feet, and 22 new ‘flower clusters’ of varying sizes (making a total of 12 trees and 52 clusters). The new variety will create a more robust experience for visitors when exploring the everchanging, color-drenched, glowing fantasy land. QR codes will be incorporated into various elements to allow the public to create lighting patterns for a short duration of time, as well as peepholes in tree knots that will reveal hidden worlds to curious adventurers. The incorporated technology includes 150 lighting patterns with hundreds of variations, for 2-3 hours of original playtime! To truly transport you on your journey, an exciting new audio system within some structures will allow low-level ambient music, providing the ultimate connection between art, nature, and the mind.

• Entwined Meadow 2020-21 Details

Entwined Meadow is an installation by Charles Gadeken. The exhibit brings the viewer to a whimsical land where visitors explore paths and sit under one of three metal sculpted trees. The trees range from 12 to 20 feet tall with colorful and ever-changing illuminated canopies as large as 30 feet wide. In addition to the trees, flower cluster sculptures composed of 2,000 LED lights at varying heights invite a dynamic and dazzling experience filled with radiating light and color. The lighting effects are inspired by nature and build a sense of magic and wonder: sensations such as raindrops, lightning, thunderstorms, windblown grass and leaves, ripples on a pond are translated through color and duration.

The installation opened on December 10th in Golden Gate Park’s Peacock Meadow near the Conservatory of Flowers. The project is made possible through a partnership between San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Department and the San Francisco Parks Alliance for the Park’s 150th Anniversary finale. Numerous professionals, arts supporters, and volunteers make Gadeken’s large-scale installations possible!

Download a PDF of the Entwined Meadow Press Release (12/23/20) & New Press Release (2/10/21), here.