You can’t hang ornaments on these trees, but they’re beautiful enough on their own.

Artist Sachiko Kodama used science to create slick black conifers made of ferrofluid, liquid laced with ferromagnetic particles, in this case  iron oxide. The liquid Kodama used is a kind of oil, which gives the trees their glistening appearance.

Kodama placed magnets in the pool of ferrofluid, then turned the magnets on and off. When the magnetic field is turned on, the iron oxide in the fluid is pulled to the magnet. Cohesion and surface tension in the oil makes the molecules pull together, creating the pointy boughs of the tree, and ouila! Electromagnetic oily Christmas cheer.

Watch Kodama’s gorgeous video below.