Interview by Xárene Eskandar

I met LA-based artist Xárene Eskandar last year during ISEA2008 in Singapore where we both presented work related to the themes of ecology and transformation. This is from her website: Xárene has a diverse background ranging from fashion and automotive design to architecture and event production. She takes on anything the situation needs her to: a builder in a range of mediums; a designer without boundaries; and a catalyst funneling anger and despair into creativity. Fusing concepts of the rhizome, Singularity, and the phenomenology of space, Xárene's recent work visits the parallel universe of Other Earth, a nomadic society where the inhabitants’ responsive wearables create tentative architectures within an invisible urban infrastructure. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Design from University of Cincinnati, Department of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, and her MFA from Design/Media Arts, UCLA. Currently she is working towards her PhD at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design. Her research focus is in Social Ecology and the role of architecture in disturbed social interactions. 

We started discussing my Biomodd project over email when I was in the Philippines a few weeks after the ISEA conference. I was there to do some prospection for a potential new version. We’re almost one year later, and I am actually in the middle of the development of the Philippine Biomodd. I’m reproducing our email exchange here as one continuous conversation. 

Xárene Eskandar: Is the ecosystem in the case related to the location you are, or are you planting and growing plants that just grow easy for the effect you are creating? 

Angelo Vermeulen: That depends. In the case of Ohio, we first tried using ferns and mosses, including species native to the area – but that didn’t work out too well. The inside of the case is more like a dry arid environment, and as a consequence almost all these plants died. We then used succulent plants, and plants typical for a hotter environment, and that worked much better. Apart from that we also use microscopic green algae as a water coolant. I took a dried batch from my Belgian studio to Ohio, revived them and injected them in the work. Inevitably they mixed with local algae (through air-borne spores or aplanospores). I will reuse this Belgo-American batch in the next version, and so on. By the end of the project I should have a sort of universal mix. 

XE: I don't understand the game. Is it Tron-like but in a world similar to the greenhouse? 

AV: For the first Biomodd version we decided to start with an existing open-source game with good and accessible gameplay, Armagetron Advanced. Social connectivity is essential for the project, hence the need for a game with a low entry threshold. Scott Sullivan, one of the team members redesigned the game using photos and ideas stemming from the ecosystem. In the future I want to create a custom game that integrates, or rather mixes, the virtual world and the ecosystem. There are several ways to achieve this. Sensors could be utilized to probe the state and evolution of the ecosystem. These data can then be used to create a dynamic representation of the ecosystem in the game world. Specific controls in the game could allow the player to (temporarily) take control of robotics inside the structure, and consequently manipulate the ecosystem through such tasks as planting seeds or providing nutrients. 

XE: I am not keen on its disassembly. I like that some parts get used in the next set-up, but the rest just recycled and the plants given away (and probably the goldfish die)? That doesn't cut it for me. Creating a system and killing it off... so erroneously human. 

AV: The goldfish didn’t die – they’re actually in good health now. Morgan Riles, the filmmaker who made a documentary about the project adopted them. However, next to life and evolution, death and destruction are also recurrent elements in my work (check out Blue Shift on the ISEA2006 site). Death and destruction are not erroneous, nor strictly human, and actually inherent to ecology (and thermodynamics). The temporary fleeting nature of the Biomodd versions is crucial. I always compare it to the tradition of Mandala sand painting: Traditionally most sand mandalas are destroyed shortly after their completion. This is done as a metaphor of the impermanence of life. The sands are swept up and placed in an urn; to fulfill the function of healing, half is distributed to the audience at the closing ceremony, while the remainder is carried to a nearby body of water, where it is deposited.  

XE: Can instead each Biomodd network with another Biomodd? They can each have their location-specific character, without facing death. 

AV: That could be another option. 

XE: Can Biomodd be a space that expands over time and takes a life of its own? 

AV: Sure, if a local community wants to dedicate time and energy in taking care of the system,
I would be open for that. The problem is that the communities I gather around Biomodd are
temporary by themselves. Afterwards people disperse again. And even if some people would
decide to take care of it, it would end somehow. The realization of that pervades the
whole experience. 

XE: Can it be a server room for a network of gamers? Then different parts of the greenhouse may grow differently based on the gaming habits of the network it represents. Hmm, live data visualization of sorts? 

AV: Theoretically yes. But transforming Biomodd into an architectural structure would require an enormous input from people and a huge budget. Who knows, once I am rich and famous… But the idea of live data visualization is definitely a good one. 

XE: Any edibles and herbs perhaps, so it can make a full circle and come back to us. Then the energy generated won't die off with the plants and the fish... and I would love to make Biomodd dishes!! Oh, can you add a culinary aspect to this for me?! 

AV: Oh yeah, we already experimented with that in Athens: we had watercress seeds sprouting inside the case… and then organized an intimate wine and cheese event with the crew, sprinkling watercress on our French bread. It’s probably something we will expand upon here in the Philippines. And complete Biomodd dishes? Yes, that would be nice. But wait a second, edible means killing… 

XE: I am happy to hear about the goldfish. Using the mandala as an example doesn't work. A mandala is lifeless matter used as a metaphor; a lama will never use a living being. I recall reading about your Blue Shift project... hypocritically, I enjoyed the evilness of it. 

AV: We’re killing the system, not the life that it contains. Animals and plants are adopted by participants and members of the audience. Algae are poured in the grass outside where they can form spores or are used as nutrients by other organisms. Working with life implicates working with death. It’s simply impossible to separate both in a straight opposition. I’m glad you enjoyed my evil Blue Shift piece.