Coil

Dark Exotic Landscape

Premiering during Halloween season at Outernet London, Coil is a new immersive installation by Maggie West.  This new piece from the artist combines her signature large scale plant photography with real footage of living snakes. 

Coil transforms the Now Building into a surreal tropical canopy filled with winding branches, blooming orchids, and striking black and white serpents moving through deep crimson and violet light. 

While Coil embraces the darker atmosphere and visual tension associated with Halloween, the work approaches the season through an elevated artistic lens, focusing on beauty, elegance, texture, and immersive scale rather than traditional horror imagery. The result is a cinematic environment that feels both luxurious and uncanny, pushing West’s visual language into bold new territory while remaining grounded in her fascination with the natural world.

Slithering Off the Screen

The imagery for Coil will be created using real snakes filmed in Los Angeles in collaboration with a professional snake trainer. Rather than relying on CGI or animation, the project captures the natural movement and behavior of living animals interacting with custom built red branches and sculptural environments designed specifically for the shoot. Working alongside a trainer allows for precise control over the snakes’ movement throughout the frame, including moments where the animals move closer toward or farther away from the camera. When displayed across the massive scale of the Now Building, these subtle shifts in depth create the illusion that the snakes are emerging outward into the space in a nearly three dimensional way, heightening the sense of immersion and adding an element of thrill and tension for the audience.

For Audiences of All Ages

Coil is designed to appeal to audiences of all ages, transforming imagery often associated with fear into something visually sophisticated, mesmerizing, and approachable. Timed around Halloween season, the installation naturally aligns with seasonal programming while elevating it through a refined artistic lens that focuses on beauty, atmosphere, and immersive scale rather than traditional horror imagery. The result is an experience that feels cinematic and culturally relevant while remaining accessible to families, art audiences, and visitors looking for something unique during the holiday season.

At the same time, the project carries a subtle educational layer through its commitment to working with real natural subjects. Every movement within the installation comes from real snakes and real plant life captured through photography and live filming, allowing audiences to experience the genuine textures, behaviors, and rhythms of the natural world rather than simulated AI imagery or fully digital 3D animation.

Thanks for Reading!

Maggie@maggiewest.co