PAOLA LENTI: The music of plants
Plants absorb carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, sustain ecosystems, keep soils fertile and form the foundation of every food chain. For this reason, learning to respect them, to listen to them and to understand their needs, rhythms and strategies of adaptation can help us imagine a relationship with nature that safeguards the future of every form of life on Earth. Without plants, animal life—including our own—simply could not exist. A message that has also resonated in the world of art. In recent years, artists such as Brian d’Souza, Tosca Terán and Miha Godec have explored ways of transforming the physiological processes of plants into sensory experiences capable of bringing us closer to the complexity of the natural world. How? Sensors attached to leaves and petals detect the imperceptible bioelectrical variations generated by plants in response to environmental stimuli. This data is then processed by dedicated software and translated into sound, making audible an activity that would o...