{"id":604950,"date":"2026-09-19T04:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T04:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/604950\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T04:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T04:10:10","slug":"jesse-woolstons-immersive-digital-art-installation-comes-to-auckland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/604950\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesse Woolston\u2019s immersive digital art installation comes to Auckland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Woolston has been busy lately. In recent years he\u2019s collaborated with Leonardo DiCaprio for his nature charity Re-Wild, raising over US$40,000 (the artist didn\u2019t receive a cent); produced a series of lush floral installations for Dior as an ode to the couturier\u2019s passion for botany; shown with world-renowned Pace Gallery; exhibited at Frieze London; sold work via Christie\u2019s inaugural Augmented Intelligence auction; and completed a commission for a luxury hotel in Dubai.<\/p>\n

\" Jesse Woolston’s global collaboration with Dior. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Finally, for the first time, his work can be seen in Auckland, where he grew up exploring nearby beaches, forests and waterfalls that have become the muses of his immersive digital artworks.<\/p>\n

The Infinite Constant Front will appear at Art in the Park this November. This monumental display combines moving images and original music in two parts. The main work is a projection comparable in size to the width of the stadium\u2019s goalposts and is inspired by the power and unpredictability of New Zealand\u2019s environment, where Woolston has tried to distil one moment in time. An offshoot releases the energy into digitised strips that flash around the stadium in changing colour palettes, all referencing the hues of nature \u2013 blues, greens, ochres \u2013 enveloping the viewer with light and sound.<\/p>\n

\" A digital render of Jesse Woolston’s Art in the Park 2026 artwork installation, ‘The Infinite Constant Front’. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

I want to know if the installation is about our perilous position in the roaring forties, all wind and waves, highs and lows.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot necessarily; my work is more bodily. I want to capture the feeling of nature around me. I want to know how we fit into the universe. I often wondered what would happen if I stood in front of a tornado \u2013 in an artistic sense of course! It\u2019s gorgeous what nature produces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ideas start flowing: \u201cIt\u2019s all connected; how the blood flows in your veins, the steam rises from a kettle, how gases flow across the wing of a plane. I know it all sounds a bit existential \u2026 Maybe I should think less about that \u2013 more about how lovely it is outside,\u201d he laughs, then adds more seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all started in New Zealand and my relationship with the land \u2026 if I really try to pinpoint it, I\u2019m trying to articulate the honesty of nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in Lower Hutt and raised in Auckland, Woolston was an adventurous kid who didn\u2019t come home until the lights came on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d disappear into the bush, go swimming at Piha, visit my mate\u2019s farm, camp, hike in the forest under moonlight \u2013 all of these experiences get you in tune with nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Jesse Woolston, The Dissolution Waiapu, 2025.<\/p>\n

Woolston was still a teenager when he forewent the typical university degree and moved to Los Angeles to pursue electronic music and composition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere wasn\u2019t really a degree to fit with what I was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

His parents weren\u2019t keen on him leaving, but a dual passport, care of his American-born mother, was temptation enough for the teen who had something artistic in his heart that required tapping.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people will relate; I thought I have to get out there and see the world. I have only understood this in hindsight, but the backbone of my artistic language comes from home. You only get that reflection when you leave. It\u2019s the land that carries me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The multimedia aspect of his work was sparked by his musical inclinations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started thinking: how would a score of music describe the ocean? Electronic music is more about the physics of sound \u2013 frequencies, production, the shape of sound. The notes make you feel different things. Then I just added more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

The more was hand-made sketches to form digital renderings of waves and waterfalls, building models of waterways; collating information from New Zealand\u2019s online databases about weather systems, erosion patterns and water flows, to plug into his computer for analysis.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter where I go, or what I do, the voice inside me that speaks to nature is so loud. I can\u2019t make art about anything else. One medium can\u2019t articulate the entire dimensionality of the experience. This crazy, awesome natural phenomena \u2013 and I can only use one medium to show that \u2013 no way!\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Jesse Woolston, Cacophony in Stillness, 2023.<\/p>\n

While many viewers assume his work is AI-generated, Woolston says the only time he touches it is to make sure his \u201ccode is not buggy\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSix years ago I was really curious about AI \u2013 I was keen to know what happens when you remove human bias, but to be honest I haven\u2019t used it since, because it doesn\u2019t feel like art. But whether we like it or not, there is a segment of art that is related to technology and AI, and in the future there will be more expansion, but it\u2019s not replacing traditional art. The paintbrush isn\u2019t that important as a tool when you are standing in front of a painting \u2013 I come back to the fundamentals of what I\u2019m trying to communicate. The medium isn\u2019t that important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bright and self-effacing, Woolston is not quite like the packaged artist he presents on his social media, yet you feel he\u2019s completely in control of the narrative.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t find much online about him personally, except stardust sprinkled through his socials: a photo of him suited up with DiCaprio at Art Basel Miami, glimpses of his dazzling installations dotted around the globe, alongside similarly dazzling praise from his 124,000 followers.<\/p>\n

Well-produced documentary-style clips on his Instagram and Facebook feeds show the artist at various stages of production for his massive digital installations, some requiring six months or more of coding and hand-building models to emulate water flows, waves or waterfalls, even sculpting and welding steel for surrounding sculptural elements.<\/p>\n

For computer coding and sculpting, he brings on board experts, who happen to be friends, to assist, but it\u2019s Woolston who drives the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hands are on every part of the work, it feels more honest that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Jesse Woolston. Photo \/ Ivan Cruz<\/p>\n

Big brands have been lured by his talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Dior job came through as an Instagram DM,\u201d which he says was a pleasant surprise and offered free rein to complete his vision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI looked at the Dior job like a well-developed art project. I\u2019m thinking, now I get to play with a new surface \u2013 it could be architecture or a hotel wall \u2013 it\u2019s all the same framework.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woolston sees social media as an important avenue for artists to connect with global brands.<\/p>\n

\u201cArtists have evolved; they are their own studios now \u2013 they work directly with galleries, brands and curators. With social media, I\u2019m showing this vision of what I can create. Whoever sees it might think \u2018Ahh, that\u2019s what this kid wants to do \u2013 project these giant simulations of phenomena\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the public aspect of the work that truly drives him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to build a practice around large public installations \u2013 it\u2019s not smart! Why would you do that?\u201d he roars with laughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started my career \u2013 I wanted to make work for everybody \u2013 it\u2019s only recently I\u2019ve been selling to collectors.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s not one to sugarcoat the financials.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woolston remains determined and positive, and feels he\u2019s making inroads with a mix of public and private funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re dealing with cities, it\u2019s easier to fund these projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s figuring out other revenue streams with brands and collectors, sometimes offering a part of the completed installation to a collector if they agree to fund its creation from the outset.<\/p>\n

But the main driver for Woolston is a feeling he can\u2019t quite encapsulate or tame.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s that thing inside me that lights up when I see a finished work. When I do what I have set out to do. When I stand in front of it and say \u2018now that\u2019s correct.\u2019 That\u2019s the best\u201d.<\/p>\n

Art in the Park will show at Eden Park, Auckland, from November 12-15 November 2026. artinthepark.co.nz<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Woolston has been busy lately. In recent years he\u2019s collaborated with Leonardo DiCaprio for his nature charity Re-Wild,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":604951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1228,51,3021,15129,8608,28318,1651,2582,156,36090,15587,298162,174578,743,4202,2537,28317,1619,111,139,425,69,8143,15041,12532,61,1533,102,298161,87539,9192],"class_list":["post-604950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-art","tag-auckland","tag-bring","tag-christies","tag-comes","tag-dicaprio","tag-digital","tag-dior","tag-entertainment","tag-fisher","tag-frieze","tag-gigantic","tag-ginny","tag-immersive","tag-installation","tag-jesse","tag-leonardo","tag-london","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-now","tag-nz","tag-park","tag-shown","tag-simulations","tag-to","tag-will","tag-with","tag-woolstons","tag-worked","tag-writes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}