Acid Palm II (2016) by Haiiileen reimagines the lush, tropical energy of Miami through the lens of synthetic materiality and chromatic light. As both installation and performance, the piece explores how natural forms — specifically the palm — can be reinterpreted as neon organisms within an urban, electronic environment.
Presented as part of her early Aciiid series, this version of Acid Palm transformed the performance into a more intimate, ritualistic experience — inviting audiences to step into a radiant ecosystem where light, sound, and movement became one living frequency.
Title: Acid Palm II (2016) – Performance Installation by Haiiileen
- Creative Director / Artist: Haiiileen
- Medium: photograph
- Location: Miami, FL
- Year: 2016
Description
Acid Palm II continued Haiiileen’s investigation of eco-synesthetic environments, using custom sculptural palms crafted from reflective plastics, iridescent films, and aluminum substrates. The space was illuminated in gradients of acid green, magenta, and ultraviolet, generating a pulsing bioluminescent aura.
Haiiileen performed within this environment, her mirrored costume catching and refracting the light like the scales of a deep-sea creature — dissolving the distinction between performer, sculpture, and habitat.
The sound design featured a mix of ambient frequencies and bass-driven textures, creating an immersive experience that transported the audience into an acidic dreamscape of color and rhythm.
“This piece was about becoming a plant made of light — rooted, reflective, and alive in its own vibration.” — Haiiileen
Conceptual Framework
- Tropical Futurism: Reinterpreting natural forms as futuristic organisms.
- Eco-Synesthesia: Translating natural elements into sensory experiences of color and sound.
- Embodied Ecology: The artist as part of the living landscape, performing as an extension of her environment.
- Luminosity & Reflection: Using light as both material and emotion, illuminating the connections between artificial and organic life.
Installation Components
- Hand-sculpted palm structures from reflective acrylic, aluminum, and dichroic film.
- LED light mapping to generate color gradients and shadow rhythm.
- Sound design incorporating tropical ambience and electronic bass.
- Performance movement synchronized to the pulsing color transitions.
- Environmental staging using fog and projection to dissolve depth and dimension.
Artist Reflection
“Acid Palm II was more introspective than the first. I was no longer just designing an installation — I was embodying one. I wanted to feel what it meant to live as light, to be both grounded and electric.”
This work represents the fusion of nature and synthetic alchemy, pushing the boundaries of what performance installation can be — not just something viewed, but something inhabited.
Archival Significance
- Serves as the companion and evolution to Acid Palm (2016).
- Introduces ritualistic and meditative aspects into Haiiileen’s performance vocabulary.
- Key precursor to Aciiid Jungle (2018), Neo Odyssey (2018), and LightScapes (2018–2019).
- Demonstrates her commitment to merging Miami’s environmental identity with futuristic material culture.
- Highlights early integration of sound-reactive lighting and environmental choreography.
Archival ID: H2016-ACIDPALM-IIArtist Reflection Quote
“I wanted to become a prism in the jungle — part creature, part reflection. The Acid Palm series was my way of growing roots in light.”
