The Rave Tree, Initially devised in 2017 has become an iconic landmark visible from all over Glastonbury festival. As part of the core design team, Bailes+Light has nurtured its growth as it has evolved over the years to hold a sustainable ecosystem of lighting flora. Along the way we’ve collaborated with multiple artists to bring new energy to the sculpture, providing the creative and technical design expertise to keep the party going.

The canopy is an installation made up of 60 chandeliers, or ‘buds’, each made from hundreds of pieces of recycled plastic sculpted into leaves in a process developed by artist Emma Corck. Garlands of light are suspended within these buds and individually pixel-mapped to create a multitude of lighting effects with seasonally-inspired colours and movements reminiscent of a living, breathing organism. The trunk is clad with an undulating aesthetic originally developed by Matt Gill of Acid Carpentry, with giant Illuminated bracket fungi flourishing across the bark, a creation by light sculptor Harriet Wallis. Descending deep into the roots beneath are trails of mycorrhizal fungi, inspired by the way that trees communicate with each other chemically through the mycelial network. The overall aesthetic was initially developed by a design team led by Tabitha Pope, with Liz Young and Benji Bailes taking on art and light briefs respectively.