JUNGLE-IZED: A Conversation With Nature In Times Square, NYC

Negative function part of the experience. Image via Times Square Arts

Celebrate Earth Month in Times Square by participating in an interactive sonic visual art installation, called JUNGLE-IZED, a presentation by the Soundwalk Collective and David de Rothschild. As part of Midnight Moment, a monthly presentation by the Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts, each night from 11:57pm to midnight, the electronic billboards will show JUNGLE-IZED the video directed by Stephan Crasneanscki, revealing the hidden energy that exists in one the most biodiverse environments in the world, brining the animals, the air, the trees and the inhabitants of the Amazon to New York City. 

Along with video, this immersive installation also includes an audio experience that allows each individual participant to experience a heightened awareness around climate change, and the environmental impact humans have on the Earth with out everyday actions. The audio function of the installation can be downloaded through an app, allowing participants to listen to the voices of Shipibo shamans and narrators Jeremey Narby and Daniel Pinchbeck, Amazon experts, as they guide you through the Amazon rainforest.

Between 43rd and 47th Streets, 6th and 8th Avenues, each street will simulate a different time of the day or night. As you walk North, you will move deeper into the night, and as you go East or West, deeper into the rainforest. The rushing sound of the Amazon river marks the boundary of the experience.

Along with listening to the sounds of the rainforest, participants are also encouraged to turn on the negative viewing function on their iPhones to view the accompanying video. By inverting the colors on the screen, a more “positive” version of the film is revealed, brightening the colors of the Amazon while whiting out all the technology and modernity of Times Square.

To learn more about how to participate, go to the JUNGLE-IZED website for more detailed instructions. This unique experience is happening everyday until next Friday, April 30th.

Next, check out Vintage Photos: The Evolution of Times Square from 1898 to Today.