Last year, artist Dave MacKenzie debuted his unique brand of living art using a 1,400 square foot living wall system containing 2,500 plants at ArtPrize®, the world’s largest publicly voted art contest.  This year, Dave is back with a bigger and more intricate design.  Entitled ‘Breathe,’ the living mural is home to more than 3,500 plants and reaches over 20 feet tall at its peak and stretches 150 feet long.

‘Breathe’ separates itself from MacKenzie’s earlier work by breaking the traditional mold of a rectangular canvas.  The new design is curvilinear, graphic, and interactive.

“The largest graphic includes a windblown pattern of color in which white flowers spell Breathe O2 (oxygen) and symbolize the air.  The green patterns, above and below, represent the forests and fields.  And, the yellow in the upper right hand corner symbolizes the sun, which fuels photosynthesis, which yields oxygen.”

Dave MacKenzie, designer
Living walls bring plants back to urban environments.

Using the LiveWall® system as the canvas, the entry surrounds and buffers the noise and odors of the B.O.B.’s waste dumpsters and air-conditioning equipment. ‘Breathe’ was inspired by the idea of restoring the built environment to a more natural state. The living architecture movement is a growing trend in design that aims to restore balance to urban settings by reintroducing vegetation lost during urbanization.

MacKenzie stretched beyond the use of plants and incorporated lighting elements into the design of his piece as well.  These lights trace the outline of the leaf shapes and the veins that run through the leaves.  MacKenzie explained that these features symbolize the important role that light plays in the photosynthetic process, which creates the air we breathe.

Breathe O2 placed 5th overall in the ArtPrize 2014 installation category.

MacKenzie hopes that his piece will inspire others to become passionate about living architecture and green walls.  “It’s essentially an environmental statement showcasing the importance of plants in our world,” MacKenzie said. ‘Breathe’ can be viewed outside of the B.O.B. during ArtPrize, which runs September 24 to October 11, 2014.