Walking into EDEN is a bit like stepping into the digital version of the garden of Eden, surrounded by swirling colourful leaves, bright blooming flowers and plants that stretch like tentacles across the vast LED screens. It’s the digital garden of dreams that moves and responds to human interaction.

Created by flora&faunavisions and presented in association with Illuminate Adelaide, EDEN is described as an interactive artwork in which you can create your own garden. Located at the Light Room at ILA in Light Square, the room is quite large and easily accommodates the 150m2 of screens that encompass the space.

It’s really enjoyable for all ages to simply watch the beautiful garden unfurl but we really loved the fact that you can touch the screens gently and make patterns appear, move hanging vines, or manipulate bubbles of imaginary water.

The scenery that unfolds on the giant screens is on a loop that runs for approximately 20 mins and once you enter, you’re allowed to stay in the room for as long as you like. The number of people entering for each session appears to be capped which means there’s room for everyone to enjoy the space and the experience without being overwhelmed.

The room is darkened and if you have a small child that doesn’t like dark spaces, you may need to stay close but we think that most children will feel comfortable exploring the space.

The background music that accompanies the visual display is calming and suitable for all ages and the whole atmosphere is quite relaxing.  There’s no need to rush your visit and there are a couple of small bench seats if you simply want to sit and take in the experience visually. We noticed that the younger children enjoyed just sitting in front of the screens and gently touching them at times but were also very excited by the way the screens moved in response to their hands. Even the teens enjoyed interacting with the screens!

For everyone’s safety and the protection of the screens there are a few factors to be aware of: antibacterial hand spray is available at the entrance and exit to limit the spread of germs; do not bang on the screens as this may damage them; and be aware of rings or handbags that may scratch the screens.

EDEN is a unique and visually stunning interactive digital artwork experience that all ages will enjoy.

Read the full review by Mel for Play and Go here.