Interaction - Honours
Ego-system, as a play on words for ecosystem and identity, seeks to explore the ‘more than human’ space and discourage human exceptionalism & anthropocentrism through experiential, interactive technology.
Many indigenous cultures understand a particular kinship and sense of spiritual connection to the natural world, a mindset of which enables a sense of mutual respect between human and ‘other’. Modern culture has no sense of this, and therefore we fail to recognise our sheer dependance on the
ecosystems we turn a blind eye to.
Plants can communicate and respond to our attention in a variety of ways. However, because these responses are microscopic or too slow to be visually perceivable, we assume they are indifferent to us and therefore inanimate beings.
But what if we could bridge this communication gap and allow plants to react in a way we could see? Would people learn to perceive nature with greater respect and validity?
“I believe nature is intelligent. The fact that we lack the language skills to communicate with nature, does not impugn the concept that nature is intelligent. It speaks to our inadequacy for communication.”
Paul Stamets, Mycologist
Steph is an Interactive and Visual Design (Honours) Graduate and UX/UI designer. She is a passionate advocate for non-human lifeforms, biodiversity, philosophical innovation, and asking abstract questions to get to the root of what really matters.