BIO BITS

Time-based multimedia installation

In-situ interactive installation exploring the spooky entanglements between slime mold and light.

Inspired by the endless curiosity of a child, we built them a mixed reality that mimics taking care of a house plant. Expressing compassion for other living beings positively impacts personal wellbeing. This is put to the test in an environment where kids have the chance to share their caregiving experiences with family or friends.

Year → 2023

Client → The New School Innovation Center

Press → Better Worlds

Role → Physical Computing, Serial Communication, Creative Direction

Collaborators → Frida Moreno Cabrera, Skylar Ziyi Wang

“Interaction with indoor plants may reduce psychological and physiological stress by suppressing autonomic nervous system activity in young adults” (J Physiol Anthropol. 2015; 34(1): 21.).

A fabricated base model plant serves as the anchor between physical and virtual realities as playtesters move through 3 plant-care actions.

Step 1: Compliment your plant to give it sunlight

Step 2: Water your plant to make its leaves grow

Step 3: Give it a hug to make its flower bloom

Bio Bits is an exploration of the spooky entanglements between slime mold and light, both exhibiting quantum effects in their own unique ways. In this installation and visualization piece, we speculate how the pluralism held within a single-celled organism interacts with an element that has a significant impact on its existence. This research inquiry sits at the intersection of biology and physics, science and nature, and classical and quantum.

Created for The Innovation Center at Parsons, The New School 2023.

Collaborators: Frida Moreno Cabrera, Skylar Ziyi Wang