Mucuna

Off-Center Gallery, Missoula MT, November 2017

Steel, hand-dyed string, fabric interfacing, graphite, sugar, turmeric, cast copper, raw clay, electronics, plastic-wrapped Mucuna seeds. Arduino with Brian Givens.

Approx 6’ x 6’ x 8’ This piece focuses on the co-evolutionary relationship between the Mucuna plant and its bat pollinator, creating a rectilinear analogue of the flower. The trapezoidal shape is echoed by a 60-pound pile of sugar on the floor, creating a vertex to entice viewers while also generating associations with traps. As viewers approach the vertex, they trigger a sensor which increases brightness of a light—a visual reference to bats’ auditory interaction with the plant.

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