A vivarium is an enclosure where living systems are carefully observed, studied, and preserved. In her newest show for Outernet London’s Now Building, Los Angeles–based artist Maggie West reimagines this concept at monumental scale, transforming the digital architecture into a luminous enclosure for life itself. Vivarium invites audiences into a stylized, cinematic encounter with animals that feel both intimate and otherworldly.
Building on the time-lapse techniques that defined Terra, West once again reveals movement that typically escapes the human eye, using her signature photographic process to sculpt a variety of plants into slow, mesmerizing landscapes. In Vivarium, these methods are expanded through the integration of high-resolution video footage of real frogs, fish, and snakes.
By combining time-lapse photography with live motion, West creates a hybrid visual language that brings depth, realism, and vitality to the work, offering a dynamic and immersive experience that adds a striking new dimension to Outernet’s summer season.
FLYING FROGS
Vivarium opens with a playful frog scene set within a lush tropical rainforest, immediately immersing viewers in a world of color and movement. A chorus of vibrant tropical frogs inhabit a dense jungle rendered in glowing emerald green, turquoise, and cobalt blue hues. Towering tropical leaves and flowering plants create a layered, dreamlike environment brought vividly to life at monumental scale.
The frogs themselves appear in a wide range of patterns and colors, from luminous greens to bright orange to electric blues. Throughout the scene they leap and dart with energetic spontaneity, sometimes landing on the ceiling or popping unexpectedly onto the screen. This playful motion creates moments of surprise and delight, engaging children and captivating viewers of all ages as the rainforest vivarium unfolds around them.
FLOATING FISH
The next scene descends beneath the surface into a luminous underwater world, where Vivarium transforms into a tropical fish habitat alive with motion and color. Lush aquatic plants in deep teal tones frame the environment, accented by flashes of golden orange and royal blue drawn directly from the natural coloration of the tropical guppies and betta fish featured in the scene. Schools of fish drift, swirl, and glide through the composition, their movement unfolding slowly and hypnotically within a carefully constructed underwater environment.
West uses time-lapse photography to build this submerged world, layering light, texture, and motion to evoke the sensation of being immersed underwater. This approach was first developed during Aquatica, where West explored the visual poetry of aquatic life, and is further refined here to meet the scale and immersive potential of Outernet. For Vivarium, the technique is perfected to create a serene yet dynamic experience that feels expansive, enveloping, and alive.
SLITHERING SNAKES
The final scene rises into the treetops, shifting the perspective upward into a dramatic tropical canopy inhabited by white boa constrictors and other striking black-and-white patterned snakes. Set high above the forest floor, this environment contrasts the playful ground-level energy of the frog scene with a more elevated, atmospheric world. Lush tropical treetops unfold in deep red and purple tones, forming an immersive canopy of branches and foliage that stretches across the digital architecture.
While the animals in the earlier scenes are defined by vivid, saturated color, West intentionally shifts to a restrained black-and-white palette for the snakes, creating a striking contrast and introducing a new aesthetic direction within the work. Black-and-white blooming orchids punctuate the scene, their forms and markings mirroring the patterns of the snakes themselves. This purposeful reduction of color heightens tension, elegance, and focus, bringing Vivarium to a bold and visually arresting conclusion.
CAPTIVATING AUDIENCES
Outernet is a groundbreaking public art and entertainment district that transforms central London into a continuously evolving cultural landscape. Vivarium continues West’s ongoing partnership with Outernet, extending a collaborative exploration of how large-scale digital environments can foster wonder, curiosity, and connection for a global audience.
With Vivarium, West unveils an exciting new chapter in her practice, introducing animals as central subjects for the first time at this monumental scale. The work reflects an evolution of her visual language while remaining rooted in her fascination with nature, light, and transformation. Designed to captivate viewers of all ages, Vivarium offers moments of play, beauty, and immersion, creating a shared experience that feels both joyful and contemplative. Through this living digital ecosystem, West invites audiences into a world that is vibrant, alive, and unforgettable.
Thanks for reading!
Maggie@maggiewest.co
Phil.quist@caa.com