miguel chevalier creates a digital kingdom of flowers in latest exhibit

miguel chevalier presents ‘extra-natural’, a new generative and interactive virtual garden as part of the exhibition ‘artistes & robots’ at grand palais, paris. the work uses algorithms that create artificial life universes, with growth, proliferation and disappearance effects.

extra-natural 2018, miguel chevalier exhibition, artistes & robots , grand palais, paris
photos by nicolas gaudelet

for extra-natural, miguel chevalier relied on a process he initiated at the end of the nineties, which is based on the observation of the plant kingdom and its imaginary transposition within a digital universe, to create different generations of virtual seeds and flowers. the lush virtual garden plunges visitors to a re-invented nature between dream and reality in an ‘alice in wonderland’ way.

herbarium extra-natural, miguel chevalier software: cyrille henry

the garden is made up of varieties of imaginary flowers out of botanical classifications where each plant evolves according to a unique cycle that is defined by its morphogenetic characteristics. virtual plants appear randomly, blossom, and then fade, following a dynamic that is repeated ad infinitum while the garden constantly renews and transforms itself.

as viewers interact with the artwork through infrared sensors, the plants incline to the left or right. beyond their aesthetic and playful qualities, these works question the stakes of genetic manipulation where no one can predict what these flowers will produce freely.

exhibition info:

curators: laurence bertrand dorléac and jérôme neutres

software: cyrille henry & antoine villeret

technical production: voxels productions

courtesy of: lélia mordoch gallery, paris / miami

the exhibition runs until 9 july 2018

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: sofia lekka angelopoulou | designboom