Intersections - Nguyen Dang Binh

Jee Hyun Oh
GORI.Node Garden - Gardening Two
10 feet x 10 feet x 20 feet
Interactive art installation and environment
ARTIST STATEMENT
GORI.Node Garden is a physical and ambient data visualization as a
network garden in which each plant is nourished by communication
data. The network garden has plants with blossoms and roots that
feed the data to the garden by “watering” when each plant vibrates,
similar to how plants move in the wind.
Audiences are encouraged to participate by using instant messaging.
They create communication data by “logging in,” “sending,” or
“receiving” messages. When they log out, they are asked if they want
to implement their chat communication in the garden. When the data
enter the garden, a participant becomes a gardener and the data are
recycled.
GORI.Node Garden proposes an alternative view of the network.
“Gardening” emphasizes the intentional blurring of the distinctions
between natural and man-made materials and “Gardening data”
explains circular flow and the recycling of data.
Metaphors of nature are used here to represent that flow; chat
communication is “a seed.” Identifying each plant with the seed is to
“plant.” Pushing data into the installation from the database is “watering”
and the database is a “water tin.”
Electronic Art and Animation Catalog Art Gallery Artworks
CONTACT
Jee Hyun Oh
Ravensbourne College
of Design and Communication
Kent BR7 5SN
United Kingdom
jee@gorigardeners.net
www.two.gorigardeners.net
COLLABORATORS
Allan Au
Erik Kearney
Performer: Christian Craft,
New York University
TECHNICAl STATEMENT
The project consists of three parts; computers used as terminals for
running GORI instant messenger, a server computer running Flash
Communication Server with PHP/MySQl, and an installation of
electronic plants.
A plant called GORI consists of a steel disk on the top, an acrylic
tube with light source inserted, a small control board connected with
Ethernet cable, two motors, and related accessories; one motor is
for shaking and the other for growth.
When participants move to the gardening stage, they see a Flashbased
screen where the same layout of the garden is displayed.
They can view the current status of each plant (how much it has
grown, whose communication was planted first, and later, whose
communication provided water, etc).
After the audience adds, deletes, or “waters” data, the updated
information is stored in the database and sent to the installation in
real time.