PLANT FLOWERS IN IRAQ

[Alex Dragulescu]

http://www.suspendedgardens.net

Suspended Gardens 2, an interactive project by Alex Dragulescu, is a
metaphor that references history, borrows meanings from contemporary
culture, and offers a political commentary in a subtle, playful way. It is a
hybrid between an interactive Flash game, a messageboard and a simulation
system rendered relevant by the current conflict in Iraq.

Today's digital war makes the explosion of a “precision-guided missile”
appear like a mere bleep on a screen.  Death is distant and often invisible.
The audience is desensitized and apathetic. Virtual flowers planted in
cyberspace will attempt to establish a symbolical link to a reality that is
distant, remediated and reduced by the digital stream. How ironic that  the
technological platform that makes this project possible is an offspring of
military research.

Suspended Gardens users can chose from three types of flowers whose growth
is influenced daily by various factors (climate, population, oil, war, other
plants).  The flowers also carry a user-assigned text message that can be
easily read by the whole community. Additionally users are able to see in
real time how the garden evolves.