Bengaluru exhibit ‘Walk Into Fragmented Forest’ turns ecology data into art

The exhibit was conceptualised by artists Shreni Sanghvi and Abhishek Kapahi of HereNow Studio, alongside ecologist Meghna Krishnadas of the National Centre for Biological Sciences.

Sanghvi told The Indian Express, “We had the opportunity to collaborate with Meghna Krishnadas, which brought us into where she works near Kadamane Estate….the forest that we thought was a large section was actually patches of forest which were deforested back in the day for tea plantations. We realised that the edges of these forests behave very differently from the interior.”

She added, “A lot of it is invisible. The plants are constantly putting out chemicals not just to protect themselves but also to grow. We really wanted to take this data and create something that someone can move through, understand, and hear.”

Kapahi said, “The system is running live constantly using census data that Meghna’s lab collected over four years from the forest. The second set of data that it is using is mass spectrometry data, which is basically what compounds the leaves are putting out in what quantity. These drive the audio and visuals.”

He added, “The forest has a self-regulating mechanism in the interior which does not let any one species dominate. That whole system has been replicated in code to run live.”

The exhibit will be open to the public free of charge, like all exhibits at the Science Gallery, until it closes on September 17.