Our breathing air then, now and in the future

Vegetation samples with some grasses, stones, moss, thistles and other weeds are the focus of the “AC SAM9LES” series. The comparable samples are exposed to different atmospheric CO₂ concentrations under glass hoods. The effects can be observed in time-lapse video recordings, which can be watched on a separate monitor. The video also explains where the vegetation samples were taken and what changes were measured. At the same time, the terrariums (tanks), equipped with fully automatic controls that regulate water, light and air supply, form exhibits at the interface of scientific and artistic research. The starting point is the work “Experiments and Observations on different kinds of Air” by Joseph Priestley, who invented soda water in the 18th century during his research into “air” (today we would say gases) and is regarded as the discoverer of oxygen. Just as Priestley explored the then invisible air, the AC SAM9LES are dedicated to air pollution, which in most cases also eludes our perception.

• 280 ppm – pre industrial
• 420 ppm – curren
• 1000 ppm – 2100 “business-as-usual”-scenari

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Tank 1: length: 80 cm, width: 30 cm, height: 118 cm
Based on Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Processing, Javascript, p5*js