Morris Museum debuts immersive ‘Perennial Land’ installation exploring climate, culture and community
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (Morris County) — “Perennial Land – The Data Forest,” an immersive cinematic installation created by international artists Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger with music by composer Nana Simopoulos, has opened at the Morris Museum, the institution announced. The debut comes shortly after the museum received the Morris County Tourism Bureau’s Innovative Arts Institution award for its exhibition program.
The experience uses visual poetry, projection mapping and interactive technology to prompt visitors to reflect on their role in addressing climate change. The installation incorporates multiple projections across three gallery walls, surrounding viewers with layered imagery. Footage of the nearby Frelinghuysen Arboretum is featured alongside a statement noting Morris County’s efforts to restore wetlands and replant native species, connecting the global themes in Perennial Land to local environmental work.
“We want to challenge the modern habit of thinking of the nature–culture divide, decolonize technology, and emphasize how landscape influences social, political, and psychological ideas of space,” stated the artist Laia Cabrera. “The vulnerability of the environment is directly connected to that of certain communities.”
Produced by Laia Cabrera & Co., a New York–based multimedia studio co-founded by Cabrera and Duverger, the installation blends visuals, interactivity and a soundscape composed by Simopoulos, a leading figure in world fusion music. The work incorporates elements of the local environment and economic systems while exploring the relationship between nature, culture and environmental justice, imagining multiple possible futures.
The artists’ work has been commissioned and showcased internationally, including at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C.; the Video Mapping Festival in Lille, France, where the project was an award nominee; the United Nations Biodiversity Summit in Cali, Colombia; and TreeHouse NDSM in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
“Perennial Land – The Data Forest” will remain on view through April 5, 2026, at the Morris Museum.
