the Origin of Species #93

2023

Augmented reality

The project presents an artistic investigation of a new evolutionary phase — the digital mutation of plants caused by constant exposure to technological radiation. Through augmented reality tools, the artist visualizes a hypothetical leap in flora’s development, where houseplants adapting to anthropogenic environments gain the ability to project their digital twins into virtual space.

The work plays with a science-fiction scenario where plants' rhizomatic connections — their natural network of root communications — transform under electromagnetic fields, creating a “bridge” between organic and digital realities. These projections, invisible to the naked eye and only accessible through AR devices, become metaphors for nature’s hidden potential awakened in response to technological surroundings.

The project raises questions about new symbiotic forms: What if plants, these silent witnesses of human history, began mastering digital environments as successfully as they once mastered terrestrial ones? How would our relationship with nature change when its manifestations extend beyond the physical world? Here, AR visualization serves as a scientific tool to document and contemplate this hypothetical mutation.

While referencing science fiction traditions, the work builds on actual research about electromagnetic radiation’s effects on living organisms. Playfully, it invites viewers to consider how technologies not only transform humans but trigger unexpected evolutionary processes in other species. “What if life’s next habitat isn’t another planet but digital space?” — this question remains open, like the endless branches of virtual plants growing beyond screen boundaries.