[June 17 – July 2]
I’m Jessica.
My partner Sebastian Monroy and I make digital art together.
Me: interaction design and building installations
He: programming and visual design
This project has evolved!
~ We are going to record the electrical activity in a variety of plants over longer (3-5 days) and shorter (1-12 hours) periods of time.
~ We’ll use the data to make generative art (hopefully in real time) using Unity, as if the plants are drawing.
~We’ll focus on large leaf vegetation.
~While the plants are drawing their art, I will draw the plants.
~ The project will end with the collection of generative art projection mapped onto the plants that generated them. It’ll be an illuminated forest experience.
WE INVITE OTHERS TO GET INVOLVED // HERE’S HOW
~ join my plant sketching sessions. I’ll be drawing the plants daily
~ If you’re great at biological drawing, or if your PRETTY OKAY at any kind of drawing, please lend your expertise! Host a plant sketching sesh and share your knowledge.
~ If you’ve measured plant electricity before, we’d love your input and help!
~ If you have specialized knowledge about how plants use electricity, please share! It will help a lot with creating meaningful visual designs.
~ If you’re a performance artist, are you interested in performing in the illuminated forest?
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We were inspired by @DrBeef on twitter //
We’re inspired by the bio-diversity on the island, and how different tropical plants might express themselves differently or similarly to others in varying conditions.
To understand how to get the most accurate measurements, we’re going to try non-invasive extracellular recording using silver chloride treated electrodes or a method using medical electrodes like the kind used in EEG.
We're using this thread on electronics stackexchange to learn about how to measure the electricity from foliage. https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/85342/ detect-electrical-signals-from-plants
We're also using a paper by Jorg Fromm & Silke Lautner "Electrical signals and their physiological significance in plants" (2006) to learn about plant bioelectricity. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2006.01614.x
////////////////////////// We are going to use this data to generate graphic art using the Unity game engine. Here’s a peep at some of our generative artwork in Unity:
////////////////////////// TeamLab’s light projection onto trees inspires us.
Our goal is to project the digital art generated by the plant’s electricity back onto the plant itself — to show activity in the plant that is always happening, but unseen.
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EQUIPMENT LIST
~ Greenlee DM-510A True RMS Professional Plant Digital Multimeter
~ DTECH 10 Feet USB 2.0 to RS232 DB9 Serial Port Adapter Cable with FTDI (10′ wired connection for DMM to PC display — maybe a longer one? wireless?) ~ 4mm Ag/AgCl electrode discs ~ Spectra 360 Electrode Gel
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LET’S TALK! JESSICAXANDERSON@GMAIL.COM