The anonymous artists behind the short-lived Griffith Park Teahouse are back again, and this time they’re planning “a unique and unpredictable collaboration [with] bioluminescent plankton.” Alright, you’ve got our attention.
“Night Life LA” will welcome Angelenos into a dreamlike environment in Northeast L.A. that’s illuminated by a pool of glow-in-the-dark plankton. The free installation will take small groups of visitors into a wading pool that sparkles with bioluminescent blue light. If all goes according to plan, the light will respond to visitors’ movement—as if they’re communicating directly with the microorganisms.
The installation runs May 31 to June 2, from 8pm to 2am each night. Free timed tickets will be required, though; they will be released via a lottery on May 25 (you can also call 323-905-4574 for info). Also, just a heads up that the experience does involve some fairly rigorous hiking; organizers estimate a 1.5-mile round-trip and a 90-minute experience. And, lest you think you’ll be able to Insta-brag about going, phones will be prohibited so that your eyes can properly adjust to the darkness.
Photograph: Courtesy Emily Topper
The collective staged a somewhat similar experience, “Night Life (02)” last year, but the organizers say this one will include interaction with the bioluminescence on a grander scale. And whereas that one took place at a beach over just one night, this one (“plankton willing”) will happen over three nights.
Though the anonymous artists behind the experience are most well-known for the Griffith Park Teahouse (and its temporary return in San Pedro), they’ve kept busy since then with a shower of flower petals in a Downtown alleyway, an industrial site overflowing with jacaranda blossoms and a burn area adorned with steaks of gold.
Expect the remaining details about “Night Life LA” to stay pretty hush-hush until right before the event—though we can only think of about three parks in Northeast L.A. that could accommodate a trail of that length.
Photograph: Courtesy Emily Topper