Installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, DATALAND, Los Angeles, CA, June 20, 2026–January 31, 2027. © 2026 Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of DATALAND. (Photo: Refik Anadol Studio)
A new exhibition has brought rainforests to Los Angeles. Titled Machine Dreams: Rainforest, this immersive show is unlike anything visitors have seen before. Combining technology with stunning visuals, the expansive exhibition is the inaugural showcase for DATALAND, the world’s first museum of AI art, co-founded by pioneering creative Refik Anadol. Throughout Machine Dreams: Rainforest, visitors can engage multiple senses thanks to the images and sounds of the forest projected in the gallery spaces.
Rainforests are a vital ecosystem. Tropical rainforests, despite covering only about 6% of the Earth’s surface, are thought to contain around 50% of our planet’s species of plants and animals. While many may never visit these places, Machine Dreams: Rainforest transforms data about rainforests into living environments that boast large-scale projects, responsive soundscapes, scent technology, and even biometric interaction. Upon arrival, guests are provided with wearable devices that track their movement and biometric response throughout the exhibition. This helps the system adapt the experience to make every visit unique. (All data remains anonymous and is deleted after 30 days.)
Machine Dreams: Rainforest unfolds across five galleries and is based on millions of images and sounds—including field research across 16 rainforests worldwide—all powered by the Large Nature Model (LNM). The system is trained on an ethically curated ecological archive. DATALAND has established partnerships with the Smithsonian, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Getty, iNaturalist, and the Natural History Museum in London to ensure that copyright and data theft are not a concern.
Within the DATLAND exhibition are rooms like the Data Pavilion, which draws upon more than 1.2 billion ecological data points and a live feed of environmental data from the world’s rainforests. The information is translated on the walls of the gallery, with the imagery changing as the planet does in real time. Combined with sound and scents, such as the damp smell of a forest floor, it’s something visitors won’t soon forget.
Another room, known as Gallery C—Infinity Room, presents the concept The Dream of Ruwe Pinu, which was inspired by one of Anadol’s visits to the Amazon rainforest. While there, the artist had a dream about a luminous bird at the edge of a dying forest. Yawanawá spiritual leader Nixiwaka later recognized the imagery, giving it the name Ruwe Pinu. The bird appears as a translucent hummingbird in the Infinity Room, embodying the relationship “between ecological memory and ancestral knowledge.”
DATALAND is transparent with its carbon footprint, particularly how it can lessen its environmental impact. The LNM is hosted on a specialized Google Cloud server in Oregon that runs on 87% carbon-free, renewable energy. One visitor uses a similar amount of energy as it takes to charge a cell phone.
Machine Dreams: Rainforest is now on view through January 31, 2027.
A new exhibition has brought rainforests to Los Angeles. Titled Machine Dreams: Rainforest, this immersive show combines technology with stunning visuals.
Installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, DATALAND, Los Angeles, CA, June 20, 2026–January 31, 2027. © 2026 Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of DATALAND. (Photo: Refik Anadol Studio)
It’s the inaugural showcase for DATALAND, the world’s first museum of AI art, co-founded by pioneering creative Refik Anadol.
Installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, DATALAND, Los Angeles, CA, June 20, 2026–January 31, 2027. © 2026 Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of DATALAND. (Photo: Refik Anadol Studio)
Throughout Machine Dreams: Rainforest, visitors can engage multiple senses thanks to the images and sounds of the forest projected in the gallery spaces.
Installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, DATALAND, Los Angeles, CA, June 20, 2026–January 31, 2027. © 2026 Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of DATALAND. (Photo: Refik Anadol Studio)
Installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, DATALAND, Los Angeles, CA, June 20, 2026–January 31, 2027. © 2026 Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of DATALAND. (Photo: Refik Anadol Studio)
Installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, DATALAND, Los Angeles, CA, June 20, 2026–January 31, 2027. © 2026 Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of DATALAND. (Photo: Refik Anadol Studio)
Installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, DATALAND, Los Angeles, CA, June 20, 2026–January 31, 2027. © 2026 Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of DATALAND. (Photo: Refik Anadol Studio)
Installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, DATALAND, Los Angeles, CA, June 20, 2026–January 31, 2027. © 2026 Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of DATALAND. (Photo: Refik Anadol Studio)
Installation view of Machine Dreams: Rainforest, DATALAND, Los Angeles, CA, June 20, 2026–January 31, 2027. © 2026 Refik Anadol Studio on behalf of DATALAND. (Photo: Refik Anadol Studio)
