TERRY VERGOS
Memory without Brain
Memory without brain is an ecological intelligence sound-lecture performance which explore beings, thought, perception and how they constantly shape our shared world through the story of a plant. I am interested to identify ways of combining the use of emerging technologies to expand real-time human perception.
This is an invitation to wander, listen, see and imagine how plants, animals, humans, visible and invisible creatures, dreams, fantasies, stories and magic, intersect to create our shared world.
Where intelligence might not be the ability to solve problems but the ability to enter a shared world.
Where intelligence might not be the ability to solve problems but the ability to enter a shared world.
The revolutionary genius of plants
Inspired by Stefano Mancuso’s book “The revolutionary genius of plants”, I started thinking of ways to add the element of plants in a performance. I use environmental recordings, code and biodata sonification to capture the plant’s sonic world.
Inspired by Stefano Mancuso’s book “The revolutionary genius of plants”, I started thinking of ways to add the element of plants in a performance. I use environmental recordings, code and biodata sonification to capture the plant’s sonic world.
Biodata Sonification
is a process to translate complex real-time sensor data into musical notes and controls, exploring auditory sensory modality to provide insights into invisible phenomenon.
By measuring microcurrent fluctuations occurring across the surface of a plant’s leaf, this Biodata Sonification device generates MIDI notes when a change in conductivity is detected, allowing a user to listen into the invisible biological processes occurring within plants.
Every living being shows electrical activities on its surface as a sign of its vitality: electrical signals can be captured from human skin as a result of muscles and neurons activities and can be highly altered by skin’s moisture; also plants show electrical activities on their leaves as a consequence of their metabolic processes.
Having the possibility to merge electronics and physiology into a musical instrument which shows that these two scientific fields can be actually reduced to the same concept: electrons running around and producing a variety to different effects because of their movement.
Biological activity can be synthesised to the concept of electrons leaving and joining new atmos with the result of creating molecular instability and thus, movement.
Code
Flora is a Monome Norns musical device script based on L-Systems. L-systems were introduced and developed in 1968 by Aristid Lindenmayer, a Hungarian theoretical biologist and botanist who used them to describe the behaviour of plant cells and to model the growth processes of plant development The brick in the sky. The theory of L-systems is similar to fractals.
The process
Professor Fritjof Capra (Berkley, California) recommended to me Stefano Mancuso’s book ” The revolutionary genius of plants” in a conversation we had about consciousness at the Capra Course “The systems view of life” in 2020
In the past I got acquainted by plant’s energy during my volunteering days as garderner in Clunny gardens at the Findhorn community in Scotland and also during my journey with the Alascan flower essences.
Recently, along my sound experiments, I started exploring Jonathan Snyder’s amazing Monome Norns script “Flora” which is based on L-systems and Duncan Geere’s data sonification script “Loud Numbers”. Duncan has made these amazing bio data sonification podcast series.
Through my research I came across the midi sprouts. Midi sprouts (now plant wave), have developed a biodata sonification system based on the work of Sam Cusumano.
I contacted Sam Cusumano – electricity for progress – who was happy to explain to me in more detail how biodata sonification work. Sam bulild for me a bio-sonification device to capture the sounds of plants!
is a process to translate complex real-time sensor data into musical notes and controls, exploring auditory sensory modality to provide insights into invisible phenomenon.
By measuring microcurrent fluctuations occurring across the surface of a plant’s leaf, this Biodata Sonification device generates MIDI notes when a change in conductivity is detected, allowing a user to listen into the invisible biological processes occurring within plants.
Every living being shows electrical activities on its surface as a sign of its vitality: electrical signals can be captured from human skin as a result of muscles and neurons activities and can be highly altered by skin’s moisture; also plants show electrical activities on their leaves as a consequence of their metabolic processes.
Having the possibility to merge electronics and physiology into a musical instrument which shows that these two scientific fields can be actually reduced to the same concept: electrons running around and producing a variety to different effects because of their movement.
Biological activity can be synthesised to the concept of electrons leaving and joining new atmos with the result of creating molecular instability and thus, movement.
Code
Flora is a Monome Norns musical device script based on L-Systems. L-systems were introduced and developed in 1968 by Aristid Lindenmayer, a Hungarian theoretical biologist and botanist who used them to describe the behaviour of plant cells and to model the growth processes of plant development The brick in the sky. The theory of L-systems is similar to fractals.
The process
Professor Fritjof Capra (Berkley, California) recommended to me Stefano Mancuso’s book ” The revolutionary genius of plants” in a conversation we had about consciousness at the Capra Course “The systems view of life” in 2020
In the past I got acquainted by plant’s energy during my volunteering days as garderner in Clunny gardens at the Findhorn community in Scotland and also during my journey with the Alascan flower essences.
Recently, along my sound experiments, I started exploring Jonathan Snyder’s amazing Monome Norns script “Flora” which is based on L-systems and Duncan Geere’s data sonification script “Loud Numbers”. Duncan has made these amazing bio data sonification podcast series.
Through my research I came across the midi sprouts. Midi sprouts (now plant wave), have developed a biodata sonification system based on the work of Sam Cusumano.
I contacted Sam Cusumano – electricity for progress – who was happy to explain to me in more detail how biodata sonification work. Sam bulild for me a bio-sonification device to capture the sounds of plants!