Coming this spring to Brookgreen Gardens is the world renowned Bruce Munro. Munro’s undeniable artistic talents allow him to create immersive large-scale light installations that elevate the human experience. Major news sites such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Tonight, CBS This Morning, and more have covered his draw-dropping displays.

Munro, a dual citizen of England and Australia, works out of a 16th century barn in Wiltshire, England. His first “Field of Light” display came back in 2004, when he used the field next to his studio to lay out 15,000 light stems. The display quickly gained attention, and here we are now. The temporary nature of Munro’s work adds so much value to the art. He utilizes the natural landscape as an ally in expressing his magical creations. 

Inspired by music, literature, science, and the natural world, Munro creates monumental temporary experimental artworks, as well as intimate story-pieces that reflect his creative take on life experiences. Using light and other media, these masterpieces are created from tens of thousands of components. The light display will be the only opportunity to see Munro’s work in the southeastern U.S. in 2020. 

Bruce utilizes his collection of ideas that he has journaled over the course of his 30+ year career, in order to fuel his creative mind and create the perfect displays. The exhibit in Brookgreen Gardens will feature seven different works of art designed specifically for their designated garden rooms. The installations are as follows:

• Field of Light – 11,700 stems of LED lights in changing colors in the Arboretum
• Fireflies – 600 sprays in Oak Allée
• Time and Again – 37 lilies in Pegasus Field
• Okonjima Choral Society – 2,000 “frogs” behind the garden wall at the Rosen Carolina Terrace
• Hive – 1,448 hexagonal diffusers in the Bell Tower
• Reflections – 4 animations highlighting the arcade between the Welcome Center and Keepsakes
• Water-Towers – 10 Towers in the grassy area behind Fillies Playing

When speaking on why he chose Brookgreen Gardens, Munro said, “My site visit reinforced the notion of a garden being made up from a series of interconnected outside rooms. It also left me with an impression that the ‘garden rooms,’ populated by figurative sculptures, were surrounded by an untamed landscape. It’s a magical place with an edge of the unknown!”

Having a world-class artist like Munro come to Brookgreen Gardens is thrilling for our community. He has showcased his work all across the globe. His art has been exhibited in Australia, South Korea, Sweden, Denmark, United Kingdom, and Netherlands just to name a few; and now you can add Murrells Inlet to that list!

Bruce Munro’s exhibit will be on display at Brookgreen Gardens from April 8th to September 12th, 2020. This experience is surely one you won’t want to miss! You can learn more about Bruce and see his past works here.