Fillip Studios officially launches full version of Arabidopsis Symphony at Dutch Design Week
27 maart 2023
There is more to a plant than meets the human eye
On October 23rd, during Dutch Design Week 2022, Fillip Studios officially launched their new project Arabidopsis Symphony. In the presence of neighbourhood residents, municipality officials, designers, family and friends, Fillip Studios opened up the world of plants for everyone to enjoy. After Dutch Design Week, the installation remains in place on the Wilhelminaplein in Eindhoven until February 11th, 2023, thanks to Eindhoven Design District.
About Arabidopsis Symphony
Arabidopsis Symphony shows us that there is more to a simple plant than meets the human eye. In this interactive outdoor experience involving augmented reality and music, visitors dive into the lively inner world of the ‘Arabidopsis Thaliana’ — an inconspicuous plant that exists all around the world, but grows and develops differently due to local climate, weather and soil conditions. Through complex adaptations in genes and hormones, the Arabidopsis Thaliana directly responds to changes in its environment (day or night, rain or sunshine). For this reason, it is the ‘lab rat’ among plants.
In Arabidopsis Symphony, these invisible processes are translated into an immersive experience that tells us: plants are not that different from humans after all — we are all part of the same system. The artwork combines augmented reality with an ever-changing musical composition. Walk through a field of human-sized plants while witnessing how real-time environmental changes influence their growth. The experience is unique every time and everywhere: a rainy night in Georgia will look and sound completely different from a sunny afternoon in Vienna. Come back again, and discover a new environment-based composition.
The science of plant physiology
At the basis of Arabidopsis Symphony lies extensive scientific research by Sander van der Krol from Wageningen University (Netherlands), who meticulously monitors everything that happens inside his Arabidopsis Thaliana plants. Sander collects all this data in complicated Excel sheets that only plant physiologists can understand. Thanks to this collaboration with Fillip Studios, everyone can now gain insight into the inner life of plants.
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Read about Sander’s point of view in this article
Credits & acknowledgements
Concept & design by Fillip Studios
Digital design & realization by Superposition
Arabidopsis Symphony Dutch Design Week / Eindhoven Design District is made possible with the support of Gemeente Arnhem, Eindhoven Design District and Gemeente Eindhoven.
For all our (international) supporters, visit Arabidopsis Symphony’s project page.
Press
If you need more information or high-res images of Arabidopsis Symphony, please send an email to Lotte (lotte@fillipstudios.com).