My final project aims to give my three plants a “voice”. I want to focus on how we as caretakers give (or don’t give) plants any attention. Using lights and proximity sensors my first iteration consisted of the light pattern changing when you moved closer to it, prompting the viewer to pay attention to said plant. What I want to continue doing is to have the plants talk back. Using a programmable LCD screen and a sound sensor I’d program a series of responses that the LCD screen would broadcast when sound is recognized.

I know that some questions and comments raised about my piece was about the effectiveness of the lights and what the plants would be communicating. I do think that it would be effective to somehow conceal the lights and make them more within plant itself instead of just being on the bottom of the greenhouse and that instead of the lights switching blinking modes they go from off to on, making the change more apparent. In terms of the programmable sayings, the plants would say kind of cutesy things like “Hello there!” “Glad you could chill with us!” and “Have you fed us yet?”

My questions for feedback:

1.) Should I make them say something else/What do you think they should be saying?

2.) Is it effective enough for the plant to merely be asking for attention or for actual care?

3) How affective is the lights and the greenhouse?