la plante (2022)

la plante is a sculptural work that is both connected and materially tangible. A device whose aesthetics are inspired by medical equipment is dedicated to the calculation and representation of a virtual plant entity, visible from a screen. A digital plant is maintained and kept alive through situations proposed to participants via a chat server. These events—for example, opening a window or shading the plant—influence the simulation parameters of the plant’s condition and its evolution. Loosely inspired by Tamagotchis, these small Japanese virtual pets, la plante requires care and attention in order to blossom. The work is thus a reflection of a complex system of interactions between the real and the virtual, a “snapshot” of the technology necessary for the functioning of a small interactive houseplant.

Text by Nathalie Bachand

Collaborators

This project was produced by Sporobole

for the ART X GAME Intangible In-Between exhibition by Nathalie Bachand and Lynn Hugues.

Interactivity: Renaud Gervais

Generator fabrication: Mathieu Cardin

Support fabrication: Claude Baron

Design of role-playing scenarios:

Éric Desmarais, Marc-Olivier Ducharme, Nicolas Trudeau, Guillaume Lévesque, Frédéric Séguin, Sophie Drouin, Léonie Alain et Magalie Leclerc Casavant.

Presentations

2023, JEU_ART_GAME, Centre Bang, Chicoutimi, CA

2023, JEU_ART_GAME, Galerie Elektra, Montréal, CA

2022, JEU_ART_GAME, Sporobole, Sherbrooke, CA