Work

Interactive Plant Growing

Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau, exhibited as part of Silicon Dreams

Date:
1993 1997

Interactive Plant Growing is one of the first interactive computer art installations to use a natural and intuitive interface instead of the then- common devices such as the joystick, mouse, tracker or other technical interfaces. In this installation, living plants function as the interface between the human user and the artwork. This not only provides a new, emotionally charged and unusual connection between computers and living beings but also poses the questions of what a plant is, how we perceive it, and how we interact with it when we touch it or approach it. The electrical potential differences (voltage) between the user’s body and the real plant is captured by the plant and interpreted as electrical signals. The images generated on the screen show the final results of that interaction as a collective image of virtual plants that were grown by several users.