An Anatomical Study of a Moment in Time and Space
  • And Anatomical Study of a Moment in Time and Space
    Bio-mechatronic installation
  • Ryan Wolfe’s An Anatomical Study of a Moment in Time and Space elegantly combines technology and biology with the natural rhythms of the seasonal cycle in a metaphoric exploration of what it means to be alive - in a moment, and across a lifetime. 

    The piece is comprised of a series of four genetically identical trees. These cloned trees embody the defining genetic information of a single organism, allowing that single tree to be conceptually manifest in four separate physical locations simultaneously.  Each of these four trees is grown in a large (15m tall) environmentally-isolated glass vitrine which has been designed to provide an internal climate that is independent from the external environment in which it resides. Environmental variables such as temperature, moisture, light, etc., are precisely controlled via a computer-controlled system. This computerized climate control allows for a gradual acceleration or retardation of the seasonal cycle - a virtual dissection of a year split up amongst the four vitrines. Through this control of localized seasonal time, the tree within each vitrine is entrained to a seasonal timeframe which is at a 90 degree interval to the actual seasonal cycle occuring outside.  The result that is that Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter exist simultaneously within the confines of the four vitrines, with the four genetically-identical trees providing us with a visual and visceral demonstration of their localized experience of seasonal time.

Description
An Anatomical Study of a Moment in Time and Space elegantly combines technology and biology with the natural rhythms of the seasonal cycle in a metaphoric exploration of what it means to be alive - in a moment, and across a lifetime.
Fields
Architecture, Installation Design, Fine Arts
Date
2011