Status: In Production / Distribution
Ecoshroom is an interactive art-science installation that explores new forms of symbiosis between plants, fungi, and artificial intelligence. By creating a living, self-regulating ecosystem, the project reflects on the potential for coexistence and collaboration between the natural world and human-made systems. Central to Ecoshroom are plants growing in symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi, organisms that form underground networks essential to most plant life. Their communication is made visible and audible through custom-built AI, offering visitors a rare window into the hidden intelligence of nature.
The AI analyzes real-time data from sensors that track electrical signals, soil moisture, temperature, CO₂, and light. Based on this input, it autonomously manages the system’s water and nutrient cycles, ensuring the health of the ecosystem. Visitors become part of the ecosystem through sensory experiences and direct participation. By eating food provided at the installation and composting leftovers, they contribute organic material that feeds back into the system. Ecoshroom transforms scientific processes into an immersive experience, bridging the boundaries between humans, nature, and machines, and imagining a future grounded in interdependence and ecological empathy.
Credits
Artist: Ivan Henriques
Software and hardware engineer: Simon de Bakker
AI engineer: Michiel van Overbeek
Biology technician: Sandrine D’Haene
Interactive interface designer: Noémi Biró
Assistant: Paul Mogwitz
Produced by: K.O. Productions
Exhibited at
– Ecoshroom V0.1: Zone2Source, 2025
Upcoming
– Ecoshroom V0.2 will be exhibited at Dutch Design Week 2025: BioArt Laboratories
With the kind support of: Creative Industries Fund NL, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunsten
