I Spread
There are many things I hide. Will you look into my shadow? What do you see? What do you hear? I am the forest, and the forest is a multiplication of my psyche. Each tree of the biome is a fractal compound of other invisible entities: microorganisms, networks of inaudible voices, synthetic and organic synergies. The push and the pull, the resonator and the exciter, the interaction and the silence.
Based on scientific experiments, this project explores the possibility of trees as bioluminescent entities. Reflecting about “synthetic biomes”, or the human manipulation of ecosystems, physical modeling synthesis was employed, to simulate the sounds of hypothetical biological systems based on their real physical qualities. The project aims to create biological, synthetic sonic environments, prompting reflection on our ability to give shape and voice to the imaginary in the context of our interaction with the physical world.
The work has been presented internationally in fulldome contexts, including Festival des Arts Numériques at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris, where it was screened as part of the festival program. It was nominated for the Janus Award for Best Emerging Artist at the Fulldome Festival in Jena (Germany), invited to participate in the Fulldome Festival Moscow, and awarded Best Sound Experience at the Fulldome Festival UK. The project was also screened at the Zeiss Planetarium in Berlin.
This project is an exploration that emerges from the alternate and the hypothetical—an inquiry into the possible and the imaginary. It stems from scientific research investigating the feasibility of transforming trees into bioluminescent entities. By extracting DNA from naturally bioluminescent organisms such as certain species of jellyfish, algae, and fungi, these experiments propose injecting this genetic material into trees as a speculative response to environmental challenges. The underlying logic imagines a future in which bioluminescent trees illuminate cities at night, reducing the need for street lighting and, consequently, lowering energy consumption and carbon emissions.
At the core of the work is the idea of synthetic biomes: environments directly altered by human intervention. Transferring genetic material from one organism to another raises questions about perception, adaptation, and disruption. Drawing an analogy in sound, the project injects sonic processes into stable systems, generating evolving webs derived from the physical properties and behaviors of living beings. This approach asks: What might hypothetical biological systems sound like? What kinds of interruptions, glitches, and interferences would emerge through such transformations?
I Spread seeks to visualize and give voice to these variations, opening a fissure into an alternate world—one that mirrors our own while subtly shifting its rhythms, textures, and forms.
Screenshots of the Modalys user interface, illustrating the use of physical modeling synthesis to design experimental instruments based on 3D meshes of trees and tree stumps.
Sonic environments and sound samples produced using custom tree-instruments created through physical modeling synthesis in Modalys.