Growth Room
in the group exhibition ‘Entre tanto’
Convívio Associação, Guimarães (PT)
28.05.2022 — 31.07.2022
(photographs for reference only - this room is to be felt)
LED grow lights, mylar fabric, 300 L of soil,
room temperature of heat (ap. 36ºC) and natural humidity;
variable dimensions.
Growth Room is an experience-installation generated by a control of technologies — temperatures and climate conditions — where it is possible to experience an idealised climate in the room. Favourable for accelerating plant growth, the room’s climate replicates that of an ornamental greenhouse or a vertical horticulture factory, using grow lights, heat, humidity, and insulation from the outside environment.
The room is a totally artificial place, but its purpose, what it produces, is natural: photosynthesis, plant growth, flowering, fruit and vegetable production.
The place of a greenhouse is born out of the need for mass production, a fictional place that capitalizes on time and growth. Forced to develop more quickly, plants are cultivated as products for quick consumption, whether for nutrition (horticultures) or aesthetics (ornamental).
The room is built according to the various conditions necessary for the growth of vegetal bodies, but the medium in this “growth room” becomes the human body, where experience is manifested.
But can our bodies grow in this environment too?
Growth Room, 2022
View of the room at the group show ‘Entre tanto’,
at Convívio Associação, Guimarães.
