01 → Plant-Technology Hybrids

How does human technology interact or merge with non-human entities such as plants and animals? What hybrid creations emerge from these interactions in urban areas? What can their existence tell us about the relationship between humans and the natural world?

This project is about observing plant-technology hybrids in urban areas and analyzing the stories they tell about the interaction of human technologies with non-human entities like plants and animals. In urban spaces, human technology increasingly merges with non-human entities, leading to unexpected and intriguing hybrid creations. This project took a deep dive into observing three of these plant-technology hybrids: plastic-wood nests, plant-concrete surfaces, and anti-bird trees.

Plastic-wood nest

Plant-concrete surfaces

Anti-bird trees

These observations reveal that some of these hybrids are intentionally designed, while many result from accidental interactions in which human technology merges with its surroundings in uncontrolled and sometimes destructive ways. This urges a new approach to technology. There is great potential in consciously designed hybrids that not only merge on a material level but also have hybrid functions that serve both, the human and non-human world.

To embody this responsibility and the dual potential of human technology, both supportive and destructive, an interactive plant-technology hybrid was created. The participant becomes part of the installation through the interactive format, representing the anthropogenic influence. The digital plant decays when the plant is touched, while the full-spectrum light above the real plant turns on, supporting its growth. This demonstrates the destructive but also supportive potential of human technology in a condensed setup. The participant becomes the supporter of the real plant and the destructer of the digital plants. This immediate transformation of their surroundings (sound, light, and visuals), bridges the gap between the influence of human technology and its often delayed or indirect consequences on non-human entities.

Through this project, I want to encourage revisiting familiar environments like urban areas through an observational lens that recognizes Plant-Technology Hybrids. This perspective allows us to observe the effects of the Anthropocene in our immediate surroundings, making the responsibility of human technology more tangible, while urging a new approach to technology. Through the installation, participants are encouraged to confront the dual nature of human technology. It can support or disrupt life. This experiential engagement serves as a metaphor for the larger conversations we need to have about technology’s interactions with more-than-human entities.

Presenting the project at the Out of Nature exhibition at the Kunstkerk in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

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2024 - Plant-Technology Hybrids