Floral Fasciation is an art science project that asks “how can plant mutations allow us to reimagine disability as a valuable form of biodiversity?” It explores variation through a series of small sculptures and corresponding animations. The sculptures are made from real fasciated flowers, resin, and soft robotics that move using airflows controlled by microcontrollers. The 3D animations deconstruct the process of mutation. By centering a non-human form and exhibiting the aesthetic possibilities opened by plant mutations, Floral Fasciation provides an opportunity for broader public to reimagine human disability differently, as a form of survival.
This project has been made possible through the 2022-23 Engage Program from the Fonds de recherche du Québec, as a collaboration with Dr. Arseli Dokumaci. Material exploration for this piece constitutes a micro-project undertaken by Emery Vanderburgh as part of the “Mobilizing disability survival skills for the urgencies of the Anthropocene” (MDSSA) Project funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant (PI, Arseli Dokumaci).
More info on our research project “Dismantling societal stigma around disability: How can natural phenomena be used as a communication tool for disability representation?“
Emery Vanderburgh 