Forest

Forest is an interactive audio-visual experience, inspired by the natural phenomenon of plant communication. Plants talk to each other via an underground network of mycelium. I wanted to explore how this could be sonically represented - as though you were listening in on their conversations.

The user interacts by clicking on the ground, causing a tree to sprout from the chosen spot. Each tree is uniquely generated, and the user is able to watch as it gradually takes form.

The trees periodically exchange signals with each other, which is sonified as an arpeggio, moving up from the root of the tree to its leaves. The unique shape of each tree also affects the way it sounds, with the length of each branch determining the pitch emitted. As more trees are planted, the soundscape becomes more lively and full.

The work explores proximity and the value of community. Like trees, we depend on one another, and thrive as part of a deeply interconnected network. We communicate and collaborate to create a whole which is greater than the sum of its parts.