http://swamp.nu/
Spore
VIDA 7.0, SIGGRAPH - first prize
Spore makes visible the artificiality of our immediate reality by showing the impact of the business market on the ecosystem. The plant was purchased at the Home Depot superstore, and inserted in a mechanized installation wirelessly connected to the Internet and programmed with open source software. The installation periodically checks the value of Home Depot's stock over the internet, and activates a watering system: if share values are up the plant gets watered. The underlined paradox is that Home Depot guarantees the well being of the plant for one year and, if the plant dies due to either falling or rising share values it has to be replaced by the multinational - a contract relating life and death. Project Website - http://swamp.nu/projects/spore1.html