Why a plant equipped with electronic elements inserted on the stem become a poetic creature? Why and through which procedures objects in current use become meaningful channels vehiculating personal stories? MachineAria is an installation by Ruben Coen Cagli, that tries to solve the question, asking the visitor to have a contemplative experience of a hybrid ecosystem build up on modified electromechanical plants. Five plants are connected to five little motors, placed under the pots, and to the led arrays on the stems' top. The motors turn on and off sequentially, enabling the the vegetables' vibrations. They sway giving the impression of being caressed by a light breeze. So the air, a traditional and excellent element for inspiring poetry, takes shape thanks to the pure technological fiction. Actually everything can be potentially transformed in a stream of data, but only for humanizing it afterwards, in this case recreating the breath / caress sensation for the user. The idea of activating mechanical processes and then converting the generated data in sensorial experiences, rise from the will to explore all the possible alterations and extensions of technology in daily life. What happens then is skidding from the technological domain to the poetic one, where the latter is essential to the development strategies of innovation.
Francesca Tomassini