that which is not me, but of which I am a part

Garden of Ghost Flowers is an artificial life form that grows from the resonance of its human visitors.

This changing and evolving artwork is inspired in part by the sociological concept of Resonance*, a mode of interacting with the world that is not based in control, and by the endangered non-photosynthesizing plant Monotropa Uniflora, also known as the Ghost Flower. 

*Hartmund Rosa

The virtual ghost flower is dependent upon networks of human qualities, such as listening, caring, and adapting, as a source of energy. Like a desert, a mountain, or a forest, each group of visitors provides its own unique biotope from which the flower grows. Each life cycle of the flower lasts for 20 minutes and can accommodate up to 25 people.

When they immerse themselves in the ghost flower, the senses of the visitors are gradually exchanged. Their voices distort and mutate, crystalize and become visible cellular material, building blocks forming tangible extensions between them. At first, the growths are fragile and tender, but as soon as it gains strength from the collective resonance, it is growing and thriving, subsuming the group until it blurs the boundaries of its constituents. Where do the human end and the flower begin?

Inside the garden, your voice becomes an instrument that the flower lives off. As a preparation, we invite you to the challenge of not using your voice for one hour before entering.