Go, Grow, Glow
2023
Interactive art / Arduino project
Purdue University Campus

Artists: So Young Song, Canwen Wang
Academic Advisor: Fabian Winkler
Sponsor: Purdue University - Boiler Gold Rush, Fusion Studio

We are sharing the living space with fungi, including mushrooms, which play a critical role in driving the world further toward sustainability. Beyond their use as nutritional food, they can also be found as ingredients in building materials, packaging, textiles, medicine, and for a number of other purposes. However, humans tend to ignore these living organisms. The neglect of mushrooms brings another problem–they have been declining and we do not put efforts into conserving mushrooms due to a lack of awareness. It is time for us to shed light on the value and status quo of mushrooms and help them grow. The project, therefore, aims to raise awareness of the sustainability of mushrooms by letting people participate in the interactive installation.
This light-based installation incorporated distance sensors and Processing software to create an interactive experience. The installation will be placed in two different spots. 
At each location, viewers will come across a tree that needs assistance in spreading "spores." The animations of the mushrooms will change based on the distance between the viewers and the tree. When no one is near the tree, floating mushroom spores appear, capturing people's interest and curiosity. As viewers approach the tree, the mushrooms grow gradually in response to their increasing interest. When viewers' curiosity about mushrooms peaks, the tree releases spores. Those who receive spores from a tree are then motivated to find a different tree to disperse spores, playing the role of an insect to aid in the reproduction of mushrooms

Go Grow Glow has been honored with the Award of Excellence in the 2024 Communication Arts Interactive Annual Competition.

Please feel free to explore our interview and press release at the provided link: https://www.commarts.com/project/36295/go-grow-glow
Website - gogrowglow.art
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