Threshold is a collection of three immersive public artworks created in 2025 by multidisciplinary artist Drake Arnold. The project explores the local impacts of climate change through the lens of Columbia, South Carolina. Using augmented reality, virtual reality, interactive storytelling, and projection-based media, the series bridges science and art to make climate data tangible and emotionally resonant. Together, these works invite viewers to consider how human activity intersects with natural systems, and what it means to live in a time of rapid environmental change.

This is not a vision of the distant future, but a meditation on the present; We are standing at a threshold.

Click the links below to experience each project and learn more about the topics they cover.

Deluge
Deluge is an immersive experience accessible across multiple platforms. It recounts the 2015 historic flood and the growing threat of extreme weather events.

Heatwave
Heatwave is a video art project that uses artistic interpretation to visualize the urban heat island effect and shrinking tree canopy in Downtown Columbia, South Carolina.

Synchronous
Synchronous is an immersive experience accessible across multiple platforms. It is focused on the synchronous fireflies of Congaree National Park.

This project was commissioned by the Central Midlands Council of Governments
and curated by One Columbia.