Portable sound installation, 2019
In collaboration with Eric Badel

PPMA, HYDROPHILIC GEL, SPEAKERS, MP3 AND HEADPHONES, LOGS AND CUSHIONS, CERAMICS, HORTICULTURAL LIGHTING.
FONDATION CARASSO GRANT WITH STUDIO DÉCALÉ / SOIL AND CROPS RESIDENCY
CORNELL U, USA / EARTHWISE AROS RESIDENCY, DENMARK.

This piece was inspired by phytoacoustics - a term coined by researcher Monica Gagliano - which shows that roots are sensitive to sound - to attempt a dialogue with plant root systems.
Various plants are growing in a rhizotron, the term used to describe the containers used in laboratories to observe root growth. Music is played through three tubes filled with hydrophilic gel to see whether it attracts or repels the roots. The spectator perceives this ‘movement’ by the direction of their growth.
It's a living piece in constant evolution, where the audience sits and listens to the music at the same time as the plants. They can see whether the different root systems are affected by the music: typical ‘plant music’ that can be found on the internet, supposed to encourage plant growth; a traditional Taiwanese song addressed to plants; and a more punk-rock tune by the group Pest Modern, Insect.
Here, after letting the system evolve for 4 months, we can see that the Taiwanese song is the most successful, and that the punk rock song seems to provoke an avoidance movement.
Another experiment was carried out at Cornell University using beans and sounds containing ultra-low frequencies and produced by the environment or animals (owl, elephant, wave,
caterpillar). According to recent studies, these sounds are the most perceptible to plants. In this case, it was the sound of the owl that attracted the roots the most.
The experiment was continued at ARoS in Denmark, with maize and ultra-low elephant sounds, in collaboration with researcher Susanne Marieke Vogel.