Sometimes organisms can come alive with light. It might be with a chemical reaction as in the abdomen of a firefly. Or it might be a defense mechanism making a fish look like it’s casting a spell. But bioluminescence is awesome enough that some artists think the rest of nature could use a little help brightening the night.

In the gorgeous video below, photographer Tarek Mawad and animator Friedrich van Schoor spent six weeks in the woods augmenting the flora and fauna there with projection mapping tech — using projectors to overlay colors and images onto surfaces — making it sparkle and glow as if it were bioluminescent. The result is mesmerizing:

We’ve seen projection mapping really come alive in the last few months in everything from hockey rink displays to music videos. One of my favorites is the astounding things you can do with “digital make-up.” And like that impressive display, the two artists who made “Projections in the Forest” claim that no post-production was used to enhance their visuals, and everything was filmed live and in-situ.

You can watch a behind-the-scenes video here.

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[HT: Colossal]