The Spectrum of Awareness: Art’s Role in Biodiversity Conversations

In August 2023, The Flora Spectrum opened at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. This interactive installation allows visitors to experience plants through the eyes of non-human species. Equipped with custom-designed ‘vision lenses,’ they see the garden as bees, birds, and nocturnal mammals do. Dr. Yasmin Obrador, an interdisciplinary artist and botanist, created the installation using light filters and genetic pigment alteration to reveal what the human eye cannot perceive.

Obrador's work addresses a crucial question in environmental art: how do non-human species experience ecosystems? She states, "Human vision represents only a sliver of the light spectrum. For a bee, ultraviolet markings act as signposts; for a bird, flower colours shift with the seasons in ways we can barely imagine." Dr. Isabel McKenzie, curator of Ecology and Design at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, describes the installation as a way to destabilize anthropocentrism, urging us to reconsider ecological narratives embedded in a single meadow.

Art challenging human dominance over nature is not new. 19th-century landscape painting often conveyed messages about land ownership and colonialism, as noted in T.J. Clark’s The Painting of Modern Life. Today, interactive and multisensory installations respond to biodiversity loss and climate change. Obrador’s garden invites active participation, prompting audiences to shift their bodies, gazes, and assumptions about nature.

While methodologies differ, Obrador’s work resonates with Olafur Eliasson’s Ice Watch, which placed melting ice blocks in urban spaces. Eliasson confronts viewers with climate change's tangible effects, while Obrador employs gentler persuasion. Her genetic pigments, developed with the University of Cambridge’s Plant Sciences Department, highlight ecological research in immersive ways. The modified pansies in The Flora Spectrum reflect UV patterns crucial for pollinator navigation.

The installation's structure reveals its evolving nature. Unlike static art, Obrador’s garden changes over time, responding to environmental conditions. Heatwaves accelerate pigment changes, and rains reactivate dormant flowering. McKenzie observes, "This variability demonstrates living systems in action. The garden is not an image of nature; it is nature." Its impermanence mirrors the fragility of ecosystems, reinforcing the installation as a metaphor for environmental precarity.

Other artists extend these themes to urban spaces. Atelier LUMA creates biopolymer materials from invasive plants, merging ecological restoration with functional design. Tomás Saraceno’s Aerocene project envisions a post-carbon future through solar-powered air sculptures that map atmospheric changes. These practices position artists as collaborators with scientists and environmental processes.

Obrador’s garden adds a unique sensory component. It raises questions about aesthetics and perception alongside ecological impact. What does it mean to design art for non-human species? Can a pansy’s UV pattern be beautiful if beauty transcends human standards? These reflections align with Timothy Morton’s notion of ecological awareness.