Epipremnum Mechaeum
Epipremnum Mechaeum (2022) is an interactive artwork that presents a vision of plants evolving into cyber-physical systems with enhanced mechanical extensions and digital intelligence. Neither plants nor animals, these hybrids make us question how plants could better defend themselves and force us to look at ourselves from the perspective of the most vulnerable kingdom.
With this artwork, I invert the fascination with transcending the human body by applying the same logic to non-human bodies for their own benefit. I speculate on an alternative evolutionary trajectory: a future in which plants evolve to sense, respond to, and defend themselves within human-dominated environments.
At the core of the installation, a single-layer neural network echoes the constraints and simplicity of primitive biological nervous systems. Running on an Arduino microcontroller with limited memory, the network uses the influential backpropagation algorithm to learn how to predict the presence of nearby humans from a passive infrared sensor. The system is embodied in a three-legged structure made of carbon fiber tubes for the bones, with linear actuators serving as tendons in each leg.
With this artwork, I invert the fascination with transcending the human body by applying the same logic to non-human bodies for their own benefit. I speculate on an alternative evolutionary trajectory: a future in which plants evolve to sense, respond to, and defend themselves within human-dominated environments.
At the core of the installation, a single-layer neural network echoes the constraints and simplicity of primitive biological nervous systems. Running on an Arduino microcontroller with limited memory, the network uses the influential backpropagation algorithm to learn how to predict the presence of nearby humans from a passive infrared sensor. The system is embodied in a three-legged structure made of carbon fiber tubes for the bones, with linear actuators serving as tendons in each leg.
Datasphinx was part of the VT SOVA Faculty Triennial group exhibition, from 04/07/2022 to 04/30/2022 at Moss Arts Center, Blacksburg,VA. Curator: Brian Holcombe
|
|
|