Can we use the Internet to rethink our relationship with non-human-centered places? Plantenna 1.0 is a proposal to use a webcam and webchat as a respectful, distant & less extractive way to care about nature.

Plantenna 1.0 is a research instrument that proposes new ways of being in contact with nature by mediating between humans and non-humans. By connecting to a fragile plant-like apparatus through an online web-chat, users are invited to initiate a conversation with the Plantenna and ask questions about the meteorological conditions of its surroundings, while accessing a live video feed streamed directly from the device. Despite being a human-made creation, the Plantenna is subject to many of the same constraints as a real plant: it is powered by the sun, and therefore subject to the conditions of the weather. Plantenna’s goal is to propose a non-hierarchical interaction with nature that is based on curiosity and care, rather than control