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A multidimensional approach to the plant

Art & Science

'Multidimensionality of the plant' is an open art & science project developed by Antía Iglesias and Marion Boisseaux in the Amazonian rainforest in French guiana started in 2021

The origin

This project is based on two fundamental pillars: the DRYER study carried out by Marion Boisseaux and the biomimetic research into the reproduction of textures from the plant/natural world developed by Antía Iglesias.

The seven species illustrated, in a period of less than a year of growth, are the ones selected in DRYER to study and analyse the effects of drought in the Amazon rainforest, a symptom of the climate crisis we are facing.

Antía Iglesias Fernández is a visual and graphic artist and Phd researcher, funded by Xunta de Galicia, from the University of Vigo, in Galicia, Spain.

Both in her research and practice she focuses in working with the interconections between nature, art, design and science. Through sustainable practices and materials she seeks the interdisciplinarity applied to the object, working within the borders of different fields.

Marion Boisseaux is a Phd researcher in Tropical ecology, funded by CEBA Institute, at the University of Guyane, in Kourou, French guiana.

Tropical botany always inspired her and she decided to study tropical ecosystem management in AgroParisTech, in Montpellier and in Kourou. After graduating in 2018, she worked for a year and a half at the French National Forest Institute (ONF) in Mayotte. She decided to focus her curiosity and started her PhD in Tropical Ecology at the Université de Guyane in 2020.

The concept

Approximation codes to a reality

Using two different languages, artistic and scientific, we seek to define reality. By complementing drawing and graphic representation techniques with scientific data, we identified seven species of tropical trees in the Amazonian forest of French Guiana. Eight different codes of approximation to reality were used, which, through their interaction, would complement each other to generate a complete and complex definition of the element; in this case, each of the seedlings.

First code: verbal. It reveals the species’ origin, evolution and taxonomic classification: domain, kingdom, phylum or division, class, order, family, genus, species.
Second code: chiaroscuro. This code, based on a flat photographic image that allows us to observe the plant in its entirety. A clear outline of the shoot, which includes the total surface of the species, in a controlled contour.

Third code: linear. The linear code allows, on a scale and with numerical
figures by its side, to have a record of all the measurements of the specimen
at a specific moment of its development.

Fourth code: color. Some drawings used the aquarelle technique to
capture the color and the incidence of light and shadows, without the use of
line and contours. The color code, despite being filtered by the artist’s eye, generates volume and three-dimensionality to the drawing.

Fifth code: data. A numerical approach to the species. Different information such such as chlorophyll levels, stem width, plant height, root to shoot ratio... presented in graphs and boxplots.

Sixth code: lineal-roots. We propose a linear representation of an isolated surface of the plant, the roots, made with a callibrated pen.

Seventh code: imprints. Faithful and direct representation of the leaf
imprint of the species taken between two panes of glass and constant light on an Epson Perfection V800 scanner.

Eighth code: photographic. A capture of the species in its environment. It is considered a neutral image, it does
not filter or bias information, allowing subsequent interpretation.

Eperua Falcata

Watercolour and pencil draw

watch our video to learn more about the project!

Iryanthera hostimanni

Leaf scan and imprint

Pterocarpus officinalis

Leaf scan and imprint

A multidimensional approach to the plant

Art & Science

'Multidimensionality of the plant' is an open art & science project developed by Antía Iglesias and Marion Boisseaux in the Amazonian rainforest in French guiana started in 2021

The origin

Antía Iglesias Fernández is a visual and graphic artist and Phd researcher, funded by Xunta de Galicia, from the University of Vigo, in Galicia, Spain.

​Both in her research and practice she focuses in working with the interconections between nature, art, design and science. Through sustainable practices and materials she seeks the interdisciplinarity applied to the object, working within the borders of different fields.

​

Marion Boisseaux is a Phd researcher in Tropical ecology, funded by CEBA Institute, at the University of Guyane, in Kourou, French guiana.

The concept

First code: verbal. It reveals the species’ origin, evolution and taxonomic classification: domain, kingdom, phylum or division, class, order, family, genus, species.

Second code: chiaroscuro. This code, based on a flat photographic image that allows us to observe the plant in its entirety. A clear outline of the shoot, which includes the total surface of the species, in a controlled contour.

​

Third code: linear. The linear code allows, on a scale and with numerical figures by its side, to have a record of all the measurements of the specimen at a specific moment of its development.

​

Fourth code: color. Some drawings used the aquarelle technique to capture the color and the incidence of light and shadows, without the use of line and contours. The color code, despite being filtered by the artist’s eye, generates volume and three-dimensionality to the drawing.

Fifth code: data. A numerical approach to the species. Different information such such as chlorophyll levels, stem width, plant height, root to shoot ratio... presented in graphs and boxplots.

​

Sixth code: lineal-roots. We propose a linear representation of an isolated surface of the plant, the roots, made with a callibrated pen.

​

Seventh code: imprints. Faithful and direct representation of the leaf imprint of the species taken between two panes of glass and constant light on an Epson Perfection V800 scanner.

​

Eighth code: photographic. A capture of the species in its environment. It is considered a neutral image, it does not filter or bias information, allowing subsequent interpretation.

watch our video to learn more about the project!

Both in her research and practice she focuses in working with the interconections between nature, art, design and science. Through sustainable practices and materials she seeks the interdisciplinarity applied to the object, working within the borders of different fields.

Third code: linear. The linear code allows, on a scale and with numerical
figures by its side, to have a record of all the measurements of the specimen
at a specific moment of its development.

Fourth code: color. Some drawings used the aquarelle technique to
capture the color and the incidence of light and shadows, without the use of
line and contours. The color code, despite being filtered by the artist’s eye, generates volume and three-dimensionality to the drawing.

Seventh code: imprints. Faithful and direct representation of the leaf
imprint of the species taken between two panes of glass and constant light on an Epson Perfection V800 scanner.

Eighth code: photographic. A capture of the species in its environment. It is considered a neutral image, it does
not filter or bias information, allowing subsequent interpretation.