Milton Keynes: Immersive flower display showcases plant 'sounds'

Jason Singh captured biodata from plants, including some of the 40-year-old planting in centre:mk

An installation of hanging flowers and the noises they make has been installed as part of the Milton Keynes International Festival.

The Place Between is an immersive work by Rebecca Louise Law and includes a soundscape created from electrical pulses.

Composer Jason Singh spent time listening to local plant life using sensors attached to his computer.

The piece can be seen - and heard - in the Middleton Hall at Centre:MK.

Rebecca Louise Law invited people to donate their own flowers, shells and cones to be part of the installation

Ms Law is known for creating immersive installations using natural materials.

The piece, commissioned by the shopping centre for the festival, was built using community-donated plants, with each element wired together to create a huge hanging garden.

It was designed to "explore the connection we have to our Earth, to each other, and our contribution to the cycle of life," the festival said.

Visitors are given a set of headphones and are then free to wander around the artwork.

Jason Singh said The Place Between was an "incredible opportunity to connect with the people and nature of Milton Keynes"

Mr Singh said: "I've recorded data from plants, the electrical signals running through them when they were alive and, through different processes, I converted those things into music.

"I use a tiny computer that picks up biofeedback from any living thing and then in real time, it converts the signal of voltage that has been picked up into notes."

He said he could "manipulate that data and change the mood of the piece", but most of the time he tried to "keep things as much [the same] as possible from the compositions that have been created by the plants".

He also used a technique for his work seen on the BBC's Wild Isles series with David Attenborough.

The installation can be seen until 30 July.