Interspecies Knowledge Video (Speculative Design + Design Research)
Interspecies Knowledge is an experimental investigation into the communication between trees via scent. In an effort to encourage inter-species empathy between humans and maple trees, the design researchers conditioned themselves to associate pain with scents of harmful, extractive, or painful experiences a maple tree might encounter over the course of its life. As researchers, we acknowledge the enormous body of knowledge, emotion, and memory that scent holds. How might sensory knowledge unite and forge understanding between humans and the earth? You can see more on the project here.
The interspecies knowledge video documents the experience of researchers who condition themselves to align their senses and responses to the knowledge of a tree. More specifically, when 'negative' scent (for a tree) is inhaled then a lancet pricks the finger of the participants, thereby conditioning them to respond like a tree.
Six scents were chosen, based on the positive or negative experience of the tree. Sap, motor oil, charcoal, and sunlight are examples. Each vial had a specified makeup, embodying the experience of the tree with those experiences.
Each vial, and set of materials, was wrapped in a strip of paper from articles that identified how certain experiences were positive or negative for trees. For example, the experience of tapping a tree is harmful to the tree, which is supported by a study. The vials are covered up in order for participants to experience scent alone. In this experiment a lancet was used to prick a finger, causing a minimal but memorable amount of pain.
