Background

Connecting plants and people through their voices since 2015, Giggling Greens is part of a co-creation and interactive project by Isabelle Desjeux. Each of the iterations of the project have involved a variety of co-creators, of plants and of installation set-ups.

“Les Plantes Parlantes / Talking Weeds”
(2015, Lycée Français de Singapour)

“Les Plantes Parlantes / Talking Weeds” (2015, Lycée Français de Singapour) , co-created with 144 students (Gr 8), connecting students, teachers, parents from the whole school to the flora of the campus through weeds collected on school grounds.

An artist residency project with 144 students (8th grade). The students were invited to notice and draw the little wild plants that grew around the campus, becoming familiar with some of the most common weeds of Singapore, such as the Chinese Violet, the Purple Cleome, the Coat button, the Lavender Sorrel, the Pick-a-back. They were also tasked with imagining the range of emotions the plants might be going through during the day depending on the weather, or when they are visited by students, rain or sunshine, and recorded their voices as plants’ reactions. The result was an installation, set up by a professional team (art teacher Sharron Feenan, electronic support Fazli Mansoor and artist Isabelle Desjeux), with students invited to help with the physical set up (soldering of each individual plate!). Each of the 12 individual plants, collected from the school ground, was electronically connected to a circuit, ready to respond to touch.

The final installation, a small lit-up tower of individual plants in test tubes, a nearby “ground” of soil with growing grass, and a backdrop of 140 plant drawings on acrylic, lit up and animated by the touch of the public, was set up in the entrance of the school. The whole school, from pre-schoolers to year 12 students, as well as the teachers and parents, was invited to interact with the installation.

An important part of the display in 2015 was the inclusion of “ground”: in order to trigger the plants to “talk” at the same time as light up and move the panels displayed behind, the participants needed to be grounded while touching the plants in order to close the (electric) circuit. The ground was located just far enough that a person alone could not trigger the plants: a human chain holding hands between the ground and the plants was necessary for the full connection, and subsequent action to happen.

“Tickling Weeds”, “Giggling Weeds” , “House of Wild Plants” and “Weeds Table” (2015- 2023, Singapore)

A series of installations taking various shapes, and allowing the public to interact, learn about the small wild plants of Singapore, displayed for interaction.

“Giggling Weeds” (2024, Alliance Française de Singapour)

A collaboration with Debbie Ding (electronics) and many of the artist’s collaborators and partners, who provided recording of giggles, often of their own children.

For Giggling Weeds, a low table provided the participants (including small children) with an easy access to the plants: mirrors, glassware, clear acrylic, lit up with LEDs embedded in the light table frame. Set up as an invitation to prod and observe, with small hand-held mirrors, magnifying glasses and small torchlights. There were also identification plates available, so each of the locally-collected plant could be recognised and named. Touching the plants triggered the giggles: each plant connected to one soundtrack of a small child giggling. The effect creates surprise and often laughter from the viewer-participant, enhancing the connection between the plant and the public.