Audio-visual artist Oliver Jennings, who we interviewed back in March, has been awarded the bronze award for the ‘discovery class’ at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2014 for his interactive installation “Bio Symphony: Music of the Plants / Damanhur” in which he explored the interaction between technology and alchemy, nature and digital and the very different worlds of art and horticulture.
The installation combined technology and biology to show the nature of variation caused to plants, by the smallest of environmental changes, such as light, water and the position of the plant. Through soundtracks and videos, produced directly from the electromagnetic frequencies of the plants within the exhibit, visitors at the show were able to witness sonically what actually affects a plant.
“This project started out as a means to explore just how alive and intelligent plant life is and see if there was any means of communicating with it. I had heard a lot about plant consciousness but it has always been very apparent to me that as much as people like the idea of it, the basis of what this ‘consciousness’ is very vague, one things for sure plants do not have a brain like we do on the other hand it is undeniable that plants are extremely sensitive and conscious of the environment around them and can navigate it perfectly according to their needs it is also fair to say that the intricacies of the way a plant grows and evolves especially when seen through a time lapse speaks of a creative potential and intelligence far greater than ourselves.”
Watch the video for Bio Symphony: Music of the Plants / Damanhur on Vimeo. All audio elements for the installation were provided by Indigo and Synkro.
> Read our interview with Oliver Jennings.
Discover more about Oliver Jennings and Derelicht on Inverted Audio.