Emergence

The installation is based on the swarm theory of maize roots. Plants have developed intricate root systems that are characterised by complex patterns and based on the coordinated group behavior of the growing root apices, to exploit soil resources optimally. the communication channels among different root apices of the same plant depend on electrical, hydraulic, and chemical signals. Sensory information collected by one plant is shared with neighbouring plants to aid in their navigation, coordination, cooperation, competitive aggression, and symbioses with fungi and bacteria. Each plant is assumed to interact with neighbouring plants causing a spatial attraction or repulsion depending on the individual root responses. The root apices adjust their direction as they detect their neighbours within a certain radius. Thus, the emergence of these root systems enabled plants to acquire information through and within their root system, which is processed through social interactions and provides solutions to cognitive problems that are not available to isolated individuals, allowing them to better exploit and survive.