Artist and professor Yuji Dogane has, for several years, been experimenting with what he calls “Plantron” – a system that converts the electrical waves in plants, into audible sound. As we all know, after the tsunami knocked out the cooling systems at Fukushima Daiichi triggering nuclear meltdowns, inhabitants within a 20km radius faced mandatory evacuation. This area, now known as the exclusion zone, will not be habitable for decades. Yet plant life has no choice but to stay.
For his latest project, Radio Active Plantron, Dogane has taken plants continuously exposed to mild radiation (equal to levels in Tokyo, which are said to pose no health risk) and wired them up to his system. He is broadcasting their “voices” over ustream (below). The stream will be accessible through May 14, 2012.
The project is hosted by piece unique, a website that connects artists with micro-patrons. If you like the project you can make a donation – part of which will go to Sakura Line 311, a charity organization that is planting cherry trees along the line where the tsunami reached.
password: RAP2012
Mankind is not burdened with the ability to hear the voices of plants, but what if that were not the case? How would life have been different? Would we have constructed monstrous nuclear power plants that emit poisonous particles?
(thanks Kosuke)
