"Untitled"
Section MS3, Linn Phyllis Seeger
Keywords: more-than-human, communication, technology, animation, sound, encryption
In my project, I am focusing on the phenomenon of plant communication, especially the way plants convey emotions through sound. Research has shown that plants emit ultrasonic sounds under certain conditions, and that these sounds have frequencies above the range of human hearing, usually between 40 and 80 kilohertz. These sounds are mainly produced when plants are under stress, such as water deprivation or physical damage.
I think this sound of plants possesses a physical encryption. The sound of plants is usually ultrasonic, which is beyond the range of human hearing and requires special equipment to capture. This inaudible characteristic is itself a kind of natural encryption. At the same time, it is also emotionally encrypted, as plant sounds are like a biological code that subjectively excludes humans from hearing them (some non-human species can hear them).
I believe that the limitations of the human voice in relation to plants are rooted in anthropocentric thinking, and that such voices are indicative of the failure of human intervention in ecosystems, reflecting the inadequacy of human understanding of non-human organisms.