‘Econario’ seeks to provide a visual representation of how changes in society affect the natural environment Credit: Natural History Museum
Ecological artist Thijs Biersteker has created a 5-metre-tall (16.5ft) robotic plant, using biodiversity data from the Natural History Museum, to create a moving monument to the importance of the choices we are making now for the future of our planet.
The artwork titled ‘Econario’ is designed to be a visual representation of how choices society makes today will affect the state of nature over the next thirty years.
The robotic plant will grow and shrink over time, not with the help of nutrients, but driven by changes over time in the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) – a metric developed by the Natural History Museum as a measure of how much a region’s natural biodiversity still persists.
As an example, if a country adopts a sustainable scenario, the work will grow to its full length. If however, a country continues to burn fossil fuels as it does in 2022, the work will shrink rapidly back towards its most mechanical state.
The work premiered on August 5 in Dordrecht, Netherlands, and will remain there until November 13 before touring the world in the coming years.
“The numbers around biodiversity loss are cold hard facts, but cold hard facts never grabbed anyone by the heart, said Professor Andy Purvis, a biodiversity researcher at the Natural History Museum.
“With Econario, you feel joy when it grows and becomes more natural; and you feel pain when it wilts. It has soul. And it really brings home what’s at stake.”
‘Econario’ seeks to provide a visual representation of how changes in society affect the natural environment Credit: Natural History Museum
Ecological artist Thijs Biersteker has created a 5-metre-tall (16.5ft) robotic plant, using biodiversity data from the Natural History Museum, to create a moving monument to the importance of the choices we are making now for the future of our planet.
The artwork titled ‘Econario’ is designed to be a visual representation of how choices society makes today will affect the state of nature over the next thirty years.
The robotic plant will grow and shrink over time, not with the help of nutrients, but driven by changes over time in the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) – a metric developed by the Natural History Museum as a measure of how much a region’s natural biodiversity still persists.
As an example, if a country adopts a sustainable scenario, the work will grow to its full length. If however, a country continues to burn fossil fuels as it does in 2022, the work will shrink rapidly back towards its most mechanical state.
The work premiered on August 5 in Dordrecht, Netherlands, and will remain there until November 13 before touring the world in the coming years.
“The numbers around biodiversity loss are cold hard facts, but cold hard facts never grabbed anyone by the heart, said Professor Andy Purvis, a biodiversity researcher at the Natural History Museum.
“With Econario, you feel joy when it grows and becomes more natural; and you feel pain when it wilts. It has soul. And it really brings home what’s at stake.”
