To be the wind for the tree: an experience of an interspecies translation

Authors

  • Natalia Fedorova Universite Paris 8

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14195/2182-8830_11-1_9

Keywords:

poetry generation, green infrastructure, insterspecies translation

Abstract

To be the wind for the tree is a poetry generator that translates the physiological parameters of a tree or cluster of trees into verses. The project is based on the data collected by the TreeTalker+ sensor, which is designed to monitor trees and measures the quality of green infrastructure and ecosystem services that trees provide to the city. The generator translates the tree data collected by the sensors in real time into short poetic texts. The article looks into the principles of analysing and translating the data and describes the development of the project from prototype to portable device and them to the site-specific installation.

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References

BUBER, Martin (1970). I and Thou. New York: Charles Scribners Sons.

BUTLER, Judith (2004). Undoing Gender. London and New York: Routledge.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2023). “Green infrastructure. European Commission. Energy, Climate change, Environment.” Accessed 14 Jan. 2024. https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-biodiversity/green-infrastructure_en#:~:text=The%20EU%20Green%20Infrastructure%20Strategy,deliver%20their%20services%20to%20people.

FEDOROVA, Natalia. Personal website. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023. http://www.nataliafedorova.com.

FEDOROVA, Natalia (2020). To be the wind for the tree. https://youtu.be/jgu-WcTD3y4?si=

VC013XpWPUsL7iBx). Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.

FEDOROVA, Natalia (2020). Pangardenia, Kepler’s Garden in St. Petersburg, Ars Electronica. https://ars.electronica.art/keplersgardens/en/pangardenia/?selectcats=&selec

ttags=. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.

FEDOROVA, Natalia (2022). Metaverse. Rosbank Future Cities Digital Public Art Festival. https://metaverse.rosbank.futurecities.art/?. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.

TROMBLE, Meredith (2017). “A longing in our hearts. Interspecies Communication in Contemporary Art.” In Routledge Companion to Biology in Art and Architecture, edited by Clarissa Terranova and Meredith Tromble, 467–481. New York and London: Routledge.

VALENTINI, Riccardo, Luca Damiano Gianelle, Giovanna Sala, Alexey Yarovslavtsev, Viacheslav I. Vasenev, Simona Castaldi (2019). “New tree monitoring systems: from Industry 4.0 to Nature 4.0.” Annals of Silvicultural Research 43, no.2: 84-88. https://journals-crea.4science.it/index.php/asr. Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.

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Published

2025-04-28

How to Cite

Fedorova, Natalia. 2025. “To Be the Wind for the Tree: An Experience of an Interspecies Translation”. MATLIT: Materialities of Literature 11 (1):139-56. https://doi.org/10.14195/2182-8830_11-1_9.

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2024): Interweaving voices: creating and sharing electronic literature

Section

Secção Temática | Thematic Section

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Natalia Fedorova

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