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Operasi Cassava is a project that examined Malaysian cultural identity through the cassava plant. What started as an online participatory archive about this plant, soon morphed into a revelation about the complex communication capabilities between humans and plants. It offered a glimpse into Malaysian culture from the lived experiences of those who consumed the cassava plant as food, and offers up for contemplation, the myriad ways in which technology can bring non-human experiences to the forefront. 

It was an experimental installation that visualised a plant’s biological reactions by presenting its inner vitality artistically and enables interaction between humans and plants within an inter-networking through the Internet of Things (IOT). The aim of Operasi Cassava was not only to reveal the complex communication capacities amongst living beings but also to secure a more vaunted place for plants within our collective consciousness. 

Since it’s conception in 2012, Operasi Cassava has taken on several versions, involving researchers and academics from various disciplines ranging from crop scientists, engineers, information architects to cultural activists and artists. The project has also expanded into several avenues of experimental research with technology to excavate aspects of intersubjectivity between humans and plants resulting in various installation works, digital artefacts, research papers and publications. 

Click here to contribute to their archive!

Medium: Installation with an online database  

Year: 2012 – present (on-going)

Lim Kok Yoong is a Malaysia born media artist who works with new media and digital technology. He is also a senior lecturer in the Media Arts Department in the Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia University, Malaysia. His works investigating the mind, the media environments and material processes through theoretical and practice-based work, drew on his interest in the existentialist perception of human conditions.

Roopesh Sitharan is an educator, researcher, curator, and an artist. His area of specialization is Malaysian contemporary art, New Media cultures and curatorial practice. Currently he is associated with Multimedia University in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. Roopesh has been actively involved in several national and international projects and showcases such as APICTA, Gwangju Biennale, ISEA and his writings have been published in several local and international journals and magazines. He often examines the boundaries of meaning and value in the production and interpretation of new media art.

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