2022
Exhibitions:
2022/10/28 – 11/20 – CCCC (Centro del Carmen de Cultura Contemporánea), Valencia Spain
Post-Natural Prototypes (Phytosemiotic Expressions) is an art-science research initiative exploring how plants can communicate their reactions and adaptations to climate-induced stress in a manner perceptible by humans. In essence, we used genetic engineering and artificial intelligence to explore how plants can communicate with humans as they attempt to adapt to anthropogenic climate change. In addition to changes in shape and color, we also explored how the plants might “talk” or “sing” to us as well. This work is the culmination of research I conducted as part of the AR(t)IBMCP residency in Valencia, Spain. In collaboration with scientists from the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Plant Biology of Valencia, IBMCP (at the Polytechnic University of Valencia) we genetically modified plants so that they develop observable morphological changes as they grow and are subject to environmental stress (such as drought). These changes are captured as images, which are then used to train an deep learning-based artificial intelligence system that on the one hand transforms them into sounds, and on the other generates alterations in the plants’ environment (inducing drought or adding water, adding hormones, changing the temperature, etc.). The overall experience is a kind of “plant futures” garden of gene expression and AI as human-plant communication system, combing shape, color, text, sound and machine learning.
Source code:
https://github.com/carloscastellanos/ARTIBMCP
Supported by:
