The complexity of entangled plant roots presents a beauty almost too much to take in all at once. A laser light illuminates their fine details, revealing structures usually hidden underground. Are the roots communicating? No… but yes, they were.
Living roots form intimate relationships with fungi, bacteria, soil organisms, and other plants. Charles Darwin proposed that the root tip functions like a brain—sensitive to conditions around it and capable of directing growth in response to external stimuli. These decisions unfold through dynamic changes in movement and orientation. This “root-brain” hypothesis has been advanced by scientists today, who are uncovering the chemical signals that plant roots are using to communicate.[1] They are defining the emerging, much debated field of plant neurobiology.
The roots in this sculpture come from exceptionally vigorous plants weeded from our yard, dead plants abandoned in neighborhood alleyways, and culled specimens from the biological sciences greenhouse at our university.
Created with Ken Rinaldo, for our duo exhibition “Symbiotic Worlds: Symbiogenesis in Art”, at the University of Texas, Dallas.
Special thanks to our curator and supporter curated by Dr. Charissa Terranova. Also to Trademark Gunderson for project assistance and video editing.
- Baluška, František, Stefano Mancuso, Dieter Volkmann, and Peter Barlow. “The ‘Root-Brain’ Hypothesis of Charles and Francis Darwin: Revival after More than 125 Years.” Plant Signaling & Behavior 4, no. 12 (2009): 1121–27. Open Access article.