CHLOROPLAST
Sillyconductor

Pressrelease

08 September – 20 October 2023

Plants life is the most extensive, radical and paradigmatic form of being in the world. It is life as full exposure, in absolute continuity and total communion with the environment. According to the latest studies, although plants are near us and we see them every day and we consume resources from plant mass (oxygen, food, textiles, medicines, fuel, etc.), most of the time, the distance between humans and plants is an astral one (a percentage of 5% of the inhabitants of the planet succeed in their lifetime to know closely a form of plant life), however plants cannot separate themselves from the world that hosts them.
„Chloroplast” is a digital art and biology project involving state-of-the-art technology applied to the natural environment and the study of plant life. Developed in three dimensions: artistic, scientific and educational, the project invites the public to reflect on the environment of nature and plant life through art and digital technology.
Chloroplast presents to the public an unseen reality of plants. The public has the opportunity to directly observe forms of communication and interaction between plant organisms and humans. The installation consists of a complex set of sensors and devices for collecting electrical impulses similar to those used in electrocardiograms that are connected to plants. These devices collect the galvanic impulses produced by the plant during photosynthesis and send them to a computer system, which processes the data collected from the plants in real-time and transforms them into sound, image and words. Each electrical impulse generated by plants is transformed into a musical note. There are 128 possible musical notes that the plant can access, thus generating its own symphony that changes according to the photosynthesis that is directly affected by the times of the day or by other environmental factors: humidity, heat, human presence, touch, etc.
The installation is equally bio-linguistic. The plant is assigned a vocabulary limited to 120 words, each impulse having as its correspondent a fact word that allows the production of strings of words generated by the bioimp.
The graphic part of the installation is produced by a dedicated video synthesizer that generates graphic shapes and patterns based on the electrical impulses collected from the plants. Over time, by superimposition, the impulses produced by plant organisms end up creating 3D visual representations. These patterns change based on the collected electrical pulses, creating a dynamic visual spectacle.

Project curated by Adrian Bojenoiu

sillyconductor (b. 1980) is a composer and sound artist from Bucharest. His practices span different sound worlds, from the innovation of church organ recording techniques, the construction of improvisational instruments and interactive installations, workshops for children or music for theater or games, always blending mathematical rigor with absurd humor. In recent years he has worked with various research institutes and scientists on various bioart and sonification projects.

Partners: Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in the Arts (ICMA), ARTA Magazine, Apollonia cultural bank Brasov.

Cultural project financed by the City Hall of Brasov Municipality.