How do trees communicate with each other?

The work is an interactive installation created by ecological artist Thijs Biersteker in collaboration with botanist Stefano Mancuso. The installation consists of two large, transparent, root-like structures made from recycled plastic using 3D printing technology. Sensors placed in the exhibition space measure environmental factors such as air quality, humidity and CO2 levels to simulate the communication patterns of trees in the forest ecosystem. Controlled by a basic ‘eco-AI’, the installation generates real-time dialogue between the root systems of the two trees, evoking the process by which neighbouring trees in the forest share nutrients to maintain metabolic balance and alert each other in the event of an emergency. As visitors approach, they become part of this simulated subterranean dialogue and the artwork responds to their presence, incorporating their behaviour and the consequences of their physiological functioning (body heat, exhaled CO2) into the ongoing dialogue. Through the immersive experience of a sense of continuous flow, Econtinuum visualizes the latest research into plant communication and allows the viewer to experience the power of symbiosis in nature.

Barnabás Bencsik