import random
Text
on pollination
2026
40x40x64cm
PMMA 8mm, esp32, vl53x, omron CA51, omron NA41, flowers
unique piece
"For the first time, we are able to mourn in a future tense." — Timothy MortonOn Pollination begins with an observation across the territory stretching from the Normandy coast to Amsterdam. Along this region—where dense agricultural landscapes, industrial infrastructure, and fragile natural ecosystems continuously overlap—a crucial process quietly unfolds: pollination.Pollination is not simply an ecological function. It is a relationship between species, carried out through countless accidental interactions between insects and plants. A bee does not pollinate out of intent; it moves from one flower to another while feeding. Pollination is a collateral consequence of life itself.Across this European landscape, this relationship has grown increasingly fragile. The dramatic decline of pollinating insects over recent decades—driven by habitat fragmentation, agricultural intensification, and chemical pressure—has prompted a surge of technological interventions. From mobile hives and ecological monitoring systems to automated pollination devices, new infrastructures are rapidly being deployed to maintain or compensate for the disappearance of pollinators.Many of these systems share a common objective: preserving agricultural productivity and optimizing natural flows into measurable, controllable operations. On Pollination shifts focus away from whether these technologies function effectively, examining instead what they reveal: we are beginning to imagine a world in which pollination continues while pollinators disappear.The project approaches this transformation by deploying grief as a design method.A central reference is Félix Blume’s sound installation Essaim (presented in Voler le Silence at Sonic Protest). By broadcasting recorded sounds of individual bees through hundreds of small loudspeakers, the installation did not attempt to recreate a hive. Instead, it allowed listeners to experience the physical presence of an absence—functioning as a form of remembrance rather than replacement.
Adopting a similar position, On Pollination does not seek to design a functional substitute for the bee. Instead, it proposes the concept of palliative design.The palliative is neither a cure nor a solution. It does not restore what has been lost. It emerges when a living system can no longer sustain itself and technology is asked to temporarily maintain a process in its place. Palliative design materializes the moment at which technical systems begin to occupy functions previously carried by the living world. It is not concerned with repair, but with the cultural and technological conditions under which replacement becomes imaginable.The incubator developed for this project embodies this stance. Built around a three-axis plotter, two optical fibers for color and distance detection, a VL53L0X sensor, and an ESP32 microcontroller, the device reproduces the physical gestures of pollination: identifying a flower, approaching it, making contact, and moving on to the next.Yet, the device is intentionally incapable of matching the complexity, efficiency, or spontaneity of an insect. Its slowness, mechanical fragility, and approximations emphasize the vast distance between a living act and its technological reproduction. Rather than demonstrating the success of substitution, it stages its inherent inadequacy.On Pollination is not a proposal for artificial pollination. It is an inquiry into the cultural condition that emerges when society prepares for the loss of a living process.
Ultimately, the project poses a central question: In an ecological crisis of human origin, how is it possible to mourn a non-mathematical, non-intentional process that can neither be fully controlled nor perfectly reconstructed?Rather than offering a solution, On Pollination creates a space where this question remains visible—confronting the consequences of a world where such a replacement has become imaginable.
on communication
2025
variable dimensions
esp32, dac PCM5102, BNO055, INMP441
unique piece
"The idea that any sound may be used as part of a piece of music has been in the air during much of the 20th century” - Steve Reich on “City Life”, 1995The relationship between ambient music and environmental sound has long oscillated between integration and juxtaposition—from Steve Reich’s use of environmental acoustic patterns as rhythmic scaffolding to Brian Eno’s creation of sonic atmospheres designed to tint space. This lineage poses a central question: How can the sound of an environment be preserved in its full authenticity without being flattened or overwritten by musical intervention?The project began with an experimental sound performance in a densely populated dining space in eastern France. Known for its complex acoustic tapestry—clattering tableware, overlapping conversations, and continuous ambient noise—the venue served as a testing ground for space-specific sound design. A two-hour custom composition was developed to interact directly with the acoustic profile of the room, engineered specifically to prevent the musical frequencies from masking the natural soundscape.Observations and listener feedback revealed an unexpected phenomenon: rather than distracting from the room’s chaotic acoustics, the sound intervention heightened listeners' ability to focus on immediate conversations, acting as a catalyst for active listening.These findings initiated the second phase of the research: designing an acoustic device that isolates, emphasizes, and reshapes the conditions of human dialogue.Positioned as a speculative investigation into future communication methods within increasingly polluted sonic environments, the project asks how deep concentration and interpersonal presence can be sustained when ambient sound levels reach critical thresholds.
The resulting wearable device functions through dynamic head-tracking and signal directionality:Orientational Sensing: A built-in gyroscope tracks real-time spatial orientation and gaze direction.Acoustic Isolation: An integrated microphone array and line-signal converter filter incoming audio based on directional coordinates.Microcontroller Processing: A Wi-Fi microcontroller processes position data to adjust signal passthrough.When worn, the device selectively passes audio based on physical orientation: the listener can only hear the voice of the person directly within their field of vision. By transforming sight into an acoustic gate, the project converts auditory focus from a passive biological reaction into an intentional spatial act.
import random is a multidisciplinary design studio investigating the space where technological systems and living behavior intersect.Taking its name from the foundational computing command that introduces non-deterministic variables into structured systems, the studio operates through speculative objects, site-specific interventions, and open-ended research.Rather than treating design merely as a tool for problem-solving or efficiency, import random approaches technical infrastructure as a lens to examine cultural conditions. The studio’s practice materializes moments of transition—where natural processes fragment, where environments saturate, and where technology is called upon to mediate human presence and memory.Through devices and the development of autonomous systems, import random creates frameworks where complex, non-linear questions remain visible.