Algae Dreams
Symbiotic Resonance β Chapter II
Algae Dreams is an immersive, phygital installation that invites visitors into an intimate sensory dialogue with Earthβs earliest breath-givers. Featured as part of the Eyes on Technology exhibition at LastCrit Gallery in Barcelona and curated by Betty Bigas, the work transforms interaction into resonance β where sound, visuals, and living matter converge.
Built using Python code, Ableton Live, and TouchDesigner, the installation merges generative sound design and audio-reactive visuals with real-time biosensory input. A Playtronica sensor embedded in a living plant responds to touch, light, air movement, and proximity β triggering reactive soundscapes delivered through wired and wireless headphones.
The glowing orb projections shift and ripple in synchrony with the audio, while silver reflective surfaces and real moss create an uncanny terrain β part laboratory, part dreamscape. Visitors engage with a living system: one that listens back.
At its core, Algae Dreams is a poetic homage to cyanobacteria, the microorganisms that billions of years ago oxygenated the Earth and made complex life possible. Today, some of these same organisms are entangled in the climate crisis β thriving in toxic algal blooms fuelled by rising temperatures and human pollution.
This installation creates a contemplative space to reflect on that duality β where lifeβs origin story intersects with its current fragility. It is a sonic and visual conversation between human, machine, and microbe β an invitation to listen more deeply to the first breath, and what itβs become.
