BOTANICAL SOUNDSCAPES AT THE JAM JAR - 18/12/24

As I entered up the stairs, I was greeted by the eerie and unexpected sounds of a cactus being played as an instrument, each new touch altering the sounds emanating from the speakers. The audience were captivated by the plant being poked and prodded on stage and as I looked around I could see people sat cross-legged around the edges of the room, while others watched and listened, swaying in a trance-like state to the evolving melancholic sounds. 

Lucy Shuter radiates an energy that feels inseparably tied to plants. A friend described her as a sunflower, and it’s hard to disagree. Botanical Soundscapes is the creation of Lucy Shuter, a concept inspired by figures like Peter Tompkins, whose work involved the fascinating and often overlooked world of plant intelligence. In his Book ‘Secret Life of Plants’ Tompkins explores the idea that plants are sentient beings like us, capable of perception, communication, and emotional responses.

Lucy expands upon these ideas by connecting plants to a computer and allowing them to ‘speak’ through the electrical signals they emit. Lucy explains: “I started it more as a way to remind people how intelligent and fascinating nature is.” Most people usually don’t think twice about the importance of plants in our lives, both Shooter and Tompkins believe the concept of giving them a voice gives us an opportunity to reconsider our relationship with plants and our connection to nature.