From rainforests to grains of sand: FREE immersive timelapse photography exhibit comes to London

A stunning, new, immersive and free exhibition is starting in London tomorrow, celebrating the natural world through timelapse photography. 

Based in Tottenham Court Road, London, the Los Angelean artist Maggie West has partnered with Outernet London – an outside arts and entertainment district. 

West is known for her colorful video and art installations created with timelapse photography; in 2023 she was commissioned to create Coachella festival's first-ever photography exhibit, Eden. She has also collaborated with Netflix, Google, Adidas and Universal. 

This walkthrough exhibit is right in the heart of the West End of London, with three parts situated in The Now Building, Now Trending and Now Arcade. 

West uses timelapse photography to explore the flora and fauna of this world, with intense colors examining the temporal shifts of everything from grains of sand to the stars in the night sky. 

"Timelapse photography unveils the hidden rhythms of the natural world all around us," says West. "By capturing these movements through vivid, colorful lighting, my work falls somewhere in between documentation and fantasy."

While many artists create visuals like this using AI or 3D animation, West's work employs photography. She uses colored lights, rather than post-production, to create the beautiful effects, redefining what's possible with timelapse photography. 

The exhibit's first section, Terra, explores the experience of one night on Earth across different climates. With incredible beauty, the audience is led through an arid expanse of desert to the lush depths of a tropical rainforest in surreal digital landscapes, celebrating the biodiversity of our planet. 

West created video environments by photographing individual plants with a timelapse as they bloomed underneath multi-colored lighting. She then combined this with astrophotography of the night sky to create these digital collages. 

The second section, called Pool, transitions the audience from vast landscapes to one of nature's smallest creations: grains of sand. West's innovative use of color and light takes the viewers on a kaleidoscopic journey. 

Ultraviolet is the last space, exploring the intricate pathways through which plants absorb water, using ultraviolet light and ink. West photographed white flowers absorbing fluorescent ink under black lights, then combined this footage to create a glowing, immersive garden.

The entire exhibition is accompanied by an ethereal score written by Los Angeles-based composer, Matt Nordstrom, as well as recordings of bird and insect sounds. 

The exhibition launches August 08, and entrance is free, with no booking needed. For more information, visit the Outernet website.

Take a look at our guides to the best timelapse cameras and the best cameras for beginners.