World Art Utopia

Sentient — Daniel Popper, Lisle

Daniel Popper’s Sentient at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois: a giant wooden head with closed eyes, surrounded by blocks carved with eyes, noses and lips, with a small child standing beside it under tall trees
Artwork FileLisle, Illinois, USA

Sentient

RemovedFeb 2023

Daniel Popper · sculpture, 2021 · The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois, USA, until February 2023

Photo: Jonx Pillemer, as credited on Street Art Utopia (11 July 2022); shown again in Worth the Walk (27 October 2026). Artwork: Daniel Popper.

Sentient is an 18-foot figure by South African artist Daniel Popper: a calm central face with closed eyes, surrounded by fractured facial features and root structures. It was one of the sculptures of Popper’s Human+Nature exhibition at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, and stood by the Japan Collection on the Loop 1 Trail from May 2021 until the show closed in February 2023. Source Source Source Source Source Checked

Removed Feb 2023. Evidence date: 2023-02-24, when Secret Chicago reported that Human+Nature would close and the sculptures would leave the Arboretum on Tuesday, 28 February 2023; the Arboretum says the exhibition closed in February 2023. We found no source that says where this sculpture went. Source Source Reported

💡 4 things to know

  1. Faces as noiseOn Popper’s project page, the fractured faces stand for “the constant external noise that bombards humans in modern society”, while the figure’s closed eyes invite a return to stillness and closeness to nature. Source Checked
  2. A nod to John MuirThe same page says Popper pays homage to the naturalist John Muir, who wrote that “the clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” Source Checked
  3. Several tons eachThe Arboretum said the Human+Nature sculptures were made of glass-reinforced concrete, wood, fiberglass and steel, and that each weighed several metric tons. Source Source Source Checked
  4. Removed, and a second Sentient?Human+Nature was extended to February 2023, and Secret Chicago reported that the sculptures would leave on Tuesday, February 28. That summer WPR showed a Sentient by Popper, the same head design on a tall column, as the forest centrepiece at Electric Forest in Michigan; no source says it is the Morton sculpture. Source Source Source Unconfirmed

📍 Where it was

By the Japan Collection on the Loop 1 Trail, East Side, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois, USA (May 2021 to February 2023) Source Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

Map pin from OpenStreetMap’s Morton Arboretum, not the exact spot. Sentient has left the Arboretum, so the button opens a plain map.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 202120 May

    Arboretum announces the five sculptures, including Sentient

  2. 202127 May

    Colossal publishes photos of the figures

  3. 20219 Jun

    Suburban Life reports with a photo of Sentient

  4. 202324 Feb

    Secret Chicago: the sculptures leave on 28 February

  5. 202313 Jul

    WPR: a festival Sentient at Electric Forest, Michigan

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

🗞️ In the sources

Colossal27 May 2021

Five Towering Figures by Artist Daniel Popper Loom Over The Morton Arboretum

“‘Sentient,’ on the other hand, surrounds a central bust with a surreal assemblage of facial features depicted on angled hunks of wood.”

Read the source →

Secret Chicago24 February 2023

This Weekend Is The Last Chance To See Morton Arboretum’s Towering Human + Nature Sculptures

“This piece for me speaks to a return to stillness,” said Daniel Popper.

Read the source →

WPR13 July 2023

Electric Forest: Showcasing more than just music

“A day and night view of the 2023 forest centerpiece, Sentient by Daniel Popper.”

Read the source →

✅ The facts

Artist
Daniel Popper, a South African artist based in Cape Town Source Source Source Checked
Height
18 feet (about 5.5 m) Source Source Source Checked
Materials
Steel, fibre-glass reinforced concrete, fiberglass, wood and natural fibres, as the artist lists them for the Human+Nature pieces Source Source Checked
Exhibition
Human+Nature, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois; opened 28 May 2021 and closed in February 2023 Source Source Source Checked
Place
By the Japan Collection on the Loop 1 Trail, East Side of the Arboretum Source Source Source Checked
Removal
The sculptures were due to leave on Tuesday, 28 February 2023, according to Secret Chicago Source Reported
Later shown?
A Sentient by Popper, the same head design on a column, was the 2023 forest centrepiece at Electric Forest, Rothbury, Michigan; no source says it is the Morton sculpture Source Unconfirmed
Status
Due to leave the Arboretum on 28 February 2023, according to Secret Chicago; we found no record of where it went Source Source Reported

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Jonx Pillemer, as credited on Street Art Utopia (11 July 2022); shown again in Worth the Walk (27 October 2026). Artwork: Daniel Popper.

Last checked: 28 October 2026 · How we verify art