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Background_Foresta Inclusive BG.png — Foresta Inclusive

Tracing the movement of trees through eco-sensors

The movement of plants is often barely perceptible to the human eye, which leads many of us to assume that the plant world is fixed and inert. Thwarting such assumptions, Foresta Inclusive links the ecosystem of a forest through a sculptural sensor hub, to an art installation within the exhibition space. It brings to life the slow and subtle movements of trees and surrounding ecology, in order to find ways to create a context for in-gallery human/forest interaction and collaboration.

Foresta Inclusive is an infrastructure designed to explore different ways to give voice to the ecosystem of the forest. This work links an outdoor environment through a sculptural sensor hub, designed to be installed on a tree trunk. The sensor hub is made out of cork and wood, and is connected to the Internet through WiFi. It has eight eco-sensors (soil temperature, soil humidity, particulate (0.1 μm – 10 μm), lux (light level), air humidity/pressure/altitude, wind, VOC/C02, and rain) with which to collect live data - including both above ground and subterranean phenomena. This sensor data is then sent to Shiftr, which is an Internet of Things prototyping platform, and used to create different interactive artworks designed to make perceptible, the slow and subtle movements of trees and the surrounding ecology.

Medium:
Sculpture: Cork, wood, and electronics.
Installation: Processing, Shiftr.io and Video

Year: 2020

Foresta Inclusive sensor hub and 8 eco sensors for sensing the environment. Included ecosensors are: lux (light levels), particulate sensors (.1, .3, 1, 2.5, 5, 10 micrometers), wind, C02/VOC, temperature/pressure/altitude/humidity, soil humidity, s… — Foresta Inclusive sensor hub and 8 eco sensors for sensing the environment. Included ecosensors are: lux (light levels), particulate sensors (.1, .3, 1, 2.5, 5, 10 micrometers), wind, C02/VOC, temperature/pressure/altitude/humidity, soil humidity, soil temperature, and rain.

About the Artist

Jane Tingley is an artist, curator and Assistant Professor at York University (CA). She has participated in exhibitions and festivals in the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe - including translife - International Triennial of Media Art at the National Art Museum of China, Beijing, Gallerie Le Deco (JP), and Elektra Festival (CA). She received the Kenneth Finkelstein Prize in Sculpture and the first prize in the iNTERFACES – Interactive Art Competition in Portugal.