Future Botanica
Netherlands, 2024
Direction: Polymorf (Marcel van Brakel, Mark Meeuwenoord)
Production: Polymorf, Studio Biarritz
Future Botanica invites participants to co-create an ecosystem that has arrived faster than we anticipated. In this interactive Augmented Reality (AR) installation, a physical space filled with moss and natural textures serves as the substrate for digital evolution. Using a smartphone as a lens, participants can "sow" unique botanical forms whose DNA is shaped by algorithms and interaction with the environment.
By pointing the device’s screen at the scenography, one can observe surreal, pulsating plants growing from the real ground. Every choice influences their shape and behavior, making the audience active participants in a speculative evolutionary process. The species bred by the public merge on a shared, large-format screen to create a monumental panorama of the "garden of tomorrow." The work by the Polymorf collective is not just a display of technology, but above all, a profound reflection on our responsibility for the planet in the post-Anthropocene era.
