Collective Silence II

A theatre of information reshaped through perspective

Collective Silence II explores ecological perception through an interactive installation that combines projection, computer vision, and a physical landscape. Rather than visualising plants themselves, the work visualises invisible information fields, asking how humans might enter an ecological communication network as participants rather than observers.

Position

Plants continuously perceive and respond to their surroundings through biological volatile organic compounds (bVOCs), vibrations, electrical signals, and other subtle forms of communication. Rather than existing as isolated organisms, they form distributed ecological networks that exchange information beyond the limits of human perception.

Collective Silence II asks what happens when humans enter this network. Inspired by ecological systems thinking and Neri Oxman's concept of nature as both medium and collaborator, the installation repositions the audience within an environment where information flows between plants, technology, and people.

Instead of representing nature as an object to observe, the work transforms invisible ecological communication into a spatial experience. When visitors approach, dispersed signals reorganise around their presence, reversing the traditional relationship between observer and observed and inviting reflection on our role within ecological intelligence.

Process

The installation integrates computer vision, TouchDesigner, real-time projection, and a physical sand landscape into a responsive ecological environment. Environmental changes captured by a camera are translated into dynamic information points that continuously drift through the space. As visitors approach, these signals rapidly converge around them, simulating the collective defence behaviours observed in plant communities under environmental disturbance.

Exhibition

All the Untamed Horses
MFA Computational Arts Works in Progress Exhibition

Goldsmiths, University of London
St James Hatcham Church Hall
London, SE14 6AD

4 December 2025