The Nature of Us

2020

The Nature of Us is a digital exhibition that explores the process of becoming human (hominization) through a system of growth present within plants (diffusion-limited aggregation).

Drawing inspiration from shamanism and the culture of ayahuasca, the website visualizes the relationship between nature and mankind by exhibiting images of anthropology in the form of a tree-like structure.

Work in progress

Digital Morphogenesis | Web Development | Interaction Design
Media: Three.js and Premiere Pro
Process ︎︎︎

User Interface

Main page

As a result of simulating the organic process, branches of images grow over time so that users can observe the connections made and learn more about their primal history. Curators of The Botanical Mind state that such designs within nature ‘seem to connect the macro to the micro-cosmos, revealing an encoded intelligence’ (Buenfeld and Clark, 2020). During a time whereby we struggle to make sense of the overwhelming world that we live in, The Nature of us looks for the answers in ecology, by encouraging viewers to reflect on their relationship to the natural world.

Initial state, zoomed out

Initial state, zoomed in

By using the growth process of diffusion-limited aggregation to grow the digital exhibition, the website alludes to the theme of plants. While the imagery in the virtual space represents the themes of hominization and cellular biology, the way it is depicted demonstrates the importance of the plant kingdom in understanding the nature of human beings - the two are synonymous.