Shi Cao
About
Shi Cao is a visual artist with an undergraduate degree in Visual Communication Design from Jiangnan University and is currently studying for an MA in Information Experience Design at the Royal College of Art. He has a background in interdisciplinary practice, specialising in illustration, digital modelling, installation art, photography and the production of moving experimental images.
Plants sustain life on Earth. They are sensitive, complex and interconnected creatures that play an amazingly active role in ecosystems and human society. He is fascinated by the emotions of plants and the relationship between humans. Still, as anthropocentrism has led to increased tensions between humans and nature, Shi plans to ease the tensions between humans and the natural world through the concept of the symbiotic world. Using 'plant love' as a starting point, he aims to explore ways to strengthen the connection between people, plants and pollinators through immersive experiences and to disrupt the definition of anthropocentrism by enhancing human comprehension of the ways in which information is transmitted between plants.
Statement
As the exchange of information between plants and their reproduction is always silent and not easily observed by humans, whispers between plants are happening all around us all the time. A small percentage of plants are pollinated by wind, but most plants communicate through pollinators, which therefore play a vital role in plant communication.
Over seventy-five per cent of crops depend on pollination and, according to Buglife, insects have declined by 60% in the UK in the last 20 years, further evidence that insects are at risk around the world.
It was a pollinator rescue plan, I provided a moving resting place for pollinators in the city, I designed a coat to carry a lot of flowers and I wore it to walk through the crowds, in the streets and in the stations. I tried to get the attention of pedestrians through this parade about love.
Plant's Love —Where is my home?
Medium: Installation art, Documentary, Performance art
Size: 00:05:35
Plant's Love—Co-creating digital garden
Description
I chose to co-create the world with the audience by inviting them to draw their own imaginary flowers and I created their digital gardens for the pollinators by collecting data, aiming to indirectly influence people's ideologies through collaboration, providing new understanding and practical experiences for the pollinators. The choice of co-creating worlds increases the emotional engagement of the participants, increases interactivity and participation, participants are more likely to become emotionally invested and the open nature of co-creating worlds allows participants the freedom to be creative and innovative, making the digital garden more random. The collaborative and nurturing approach to digital gardens increases participants' interest in gardening and fosters a sense of sustainability.
Medium: Virtual reality, UE5, 3D scanning, 3D modeling
Size: 00:01:00
Plant's Love— Love letter
Description
Plants have a complex relationship with pollinating insects, interacting with them by means of their morphology, odour and pheromones. Pollen is the central vehicle for their communication, and pollen itself carries a great deal of genetic information, so it is chosen as the main object of the experiment. Through sound visualisation, the sounds produced by the pollinators and the plants are visualised, with the audience following the audio rhythm and touching the love letter to immerse themselves in the connection between the plants and the pollinating insects. The audience will be intrigued by the connection between plants and pollinators and will think about it.
Medium: Paper，Pollen，Audio visualisation，Documentary
Size: 18cm*13cm
Plant's Love — Last supper
Description
Pollinators are facing a serious crisis in the UK, with the global loss of pollinating insects leading to insufficient pollination and reduced crop yields, resulting in the premature death of around 500,000 people each year. The importance of food to humans is clear. By combining the seeds produced by pollinating plants with food design, the seeds of pollinating insects' favourite plants are selected and the audience is invited to make and enjoy them together to reflect on the impact of pollinators and plants on our daily lives. Audiences will touch, smell and taste the 'food' and at the end of the exhibition will be invited to take it home and plant it, thus helping pollinators in a practical way.
Medium: Agar, pollen, seeds, glycerine
Plant's Love — Without pollinators
Medium: Film, AI, Photography
Size: 1m*2m