Roots Weaving Waves
Wheatgrass seeds are sown into a bed of agar agar, where their roots weave into strands of fiber optic cables. Agar agar is an algae-based growth medium that offers food and support for the grass’ roots in the absence of soil. Red seaweeds, which are a type of algae, produce this gelatinous substance to enable flexibility and adaptation in their wavy, ocean environments. Humans have found it useful as a food too, and we enjoy its jelly-like qualities in cakes, ice creams, candies, and canned meats. The transparency of agar agar reveals how roots weave themselves together, over, under, and around the strands of fiber optic cables also embedded within the medium. The cables are like those that transmit telecommunication signals under oceans and over land, carrying our data, our voices, and videos of loved ones to screens far away. In this tapestry, the fiber optic cables carry visible light; waving through seaweed media and illuminating the intelligence of plant roots.
Created by Amy Youngs












