(2026) Speculative Artifact / Interactive bio-sculpture.
Plant, glass, wood, grow lights, Arduino, custom code.
Feed the Algorithm or Feed Life
In the current phase of the attention economy, cognitive bandwidth is relentlessly harvested by algorithms; constant connectivity is perceived as necessity and offline time as absence.
Photosynthesis of Absence is a speculative domestic artifact that transforms digital silence into biological survival. Conceived as a near-future prototype for post-digital living, this interactive bio-sculpture features a hydroponically sustained plant integrated with a dedicated smartphone dock. Its photosynthetic grow lights, essential for the plant’s survival, activate only when a smartphone is physically surrendered to the dock.
The work challenges the tyranny of the algorithm by confronting us with a simple choice: feed the algorithm, or feed life.
The visitor is invited to place their smartphone into a dedicated dock within the artwork. As the phone is surrendered, a grow light illuminates the living plant, transforming the visitor’s absence from their device into energy for photosynthesis. The longer the phone remains docked, the longer the plant receives light. Through this simple interaction, the visitor experiences a shift in attention—from a digital device that demands their presence to a living organism that benefits from their absence.
A light bar at the base of the artwork visualises the plant’s daily light requirement in real time. As the visitor keeps their phone docked, the bar gradually fills, representing the percentage of light the plant has received toward its daily photosynthesis needs. The visual feedback makes the otherwise invisible process of photosynthesis tangible, allowing visitors to see how their time away from the phone directly contributes to the plant’s wellbeing.
