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Translators to weave with the non-humans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2022

Abstract

My visual artworks propose ways of being in the world—the world that humans share with non-humans. By developing projects such as breathe with a tree or listen to soil, I wish my installations to be experienced as translators. Those art projects are the result of collaborations with different teams of scientists. Together we found technological tools that could be used in art installations. These hybridizations between art and science sometimes mischievously divert technology, and instead, offer us aesthetic work with its roots deep in traditional arts and crafts knowledge. With them we can—for a moment—share time with plants, and be in dialogue with air, soil and gravity. The first project, Dendromacy, an experimental movie, was designed with a specific cooled lens thermal camera. The second one, Listening to the soil, a sounded ceramic installation started from bioacoustics recordings of the soil mega and meso-fauna.

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© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with The John Innes Centre

1. Introduction

I am a French visual artist based in the Centre-Val de Loire region. My work focuses on plant otherness and the complex and specific interactions that link humans and plants. In my installations, we are immersed into a sphere of organic and fictional forms. Here, the hybrids between art and science sometimes mischievously divert technology, and instead offer us aesthetic work with its roots deep in hand-made and vernacular knowledge. Since 2014, I am working in partnership with different labs in ecophysiology, pedology and bioacoustic.

Artists and scientists, together, we invent new protocols, which may sometimes use some of the tools of science, but not really in the way they are used by laboratories. My ideas can give ideas for scientific research, which is always a hope in collaboration, but my work does not directly give scientific results. Dendromacy, in intimacy with a tree; and Listening to the soil are two instances of artistic installations born from my collaborations with various scientists.

As a visual artist, my collaborations with scientists are motivated first by working with them and their team on artistic projects, meaning that the results of our specific collaborations take the form of artistic installations shown in art centers, contemporary art festivals, etc. The protocols I invented to do those pieces are derived from some scientific protocols, but they are not directly scientific protocols. These experiments are done to give a larger audience a bodily and sensitive feeling on specific topics. Sometimes it gives the scientists some new research ideas, but as a non-mandatory consequence.

2. Dendromacy

In 2012, I met the Canadian philosopher and poet Karen Houle (now Professor at the University of Guelph, https://www.uoguelph.ca/arts/philosophy/people/karen-houle) at a conference where we were both invited, and our long discussions about the perceptions of plants and their astonishing capacities made me want to dare to push the door of laboratories in plant ecophysiology.

In France at that time, collaborations between artists and scientists were still in their beginnings, but Claire Damesin (an ecophysiologist and specialist in the carbon behaviour of trees at the Ecology, Systematics and Evolution Laboratory of the University of Paris-Orsay) was curious about this type of duo. The first thing she told me was: ‘Look at that tree, it’s now breathing, like you do: trees not only reject oxygen, but they exhale through all their physiology CO2 too, as humans do’.

In my artistic quest, I look for tools to show what we have in common, as humans, with plants. We quickly agreed that we could define in an art and science piece the contours of a new intimacy with trees. She showed me first the IRGA (https://lter.kbs.msu.edu/protocols/195). This electronic device allows to measure the CO2 level emitted by a portion of the tree held in a Plexiglass ‘chamber’—meaning a PPMA box fixed to the bark with a modelling paste in order to stay hermetic—attached to the tree. The lab team, from that measure, can make an average of the amount of CO2 produced by the trunk of a specific tree. But this measurement tool was too disappointing for a visual artist: it does not allow us to ‘see’ that we breathe with trees, only to measure its rate. What interested me in that protocol was the name ‘chamber’: the concept of finding a new intimacy with a tree, through breathing, was born.

Regular thermal imaging cameras are used in the Ecology, Systematics and Evolution Laboratory to analyse the canopy different temperatures, in a range of black/to blue/to orange/to yellow/to white colours. They donot record the CO2 flow.

After some web researches, I found a cooled lens thermal camera designed to see the champagne bubbles. Champagne bubbles are CO2, so we contact the FLIR Company, manufacturer of this type of tool. After some mail exchanges with FLIR, and knowing the kind of project it was for, they proposed us to lend for 2 days the FLIR GR340 thermal imaging camera, with a cooled lens designed to detect CO2. In 2015, this camera was used in industries to detect gas leaks (now FLIR GR346, https://www.flir.eu/products/gf346/). This specific camera is not used at all in tree ecophysiology: a technician injects CO2 into the pipes and films, in order to see where there is a leak. In that specific position, the movie is in black and white, with a flattening effect on the image.

I divert a geodesic greenhouse dome done for leisure from its purpose. This 3 × 3 m dome, surrounding the trunk of one tree became our ‘chamber’ (Figure 1). This architecture became the set of the Dendromacy movie, used first as an aesthetic prop, and to isolate from the wind and the possibly disturbing flows of CO2 present in the forest too. ‘Chamber’ is the word used for the PPMA transparent boxes -fixed with a specific plastic modelling material following the bark shape and staying hermetic—designed to measure the CO2 emission. I found this term revealing to start our project to breathe with a tree. Instead of the rectangular ecophysiologic ‘chambers’, I fixed on the trunk some salad bells (used to raise salads) in soft plastic. The hole at the bottom of the chamber was closed hermetically, and the chamber stayed 24 hours on the tree. Then the scientist opened the small hole and pressed the plastic surface in order to let the bark CO2 emission going out. Indeed, the FLIR GR340 is only able to catch the CO2 in movement. Glued to the bark with the same lab method, these soft chambers can thus be pressed to exhale the CO2 concentration from this container. Knowing the minimum rate the camera was able to record, and before having, Claire Damesin did some measurements with the IRGA in her research field in Barbeau Forest near Paris. It appeared that after 24 hours, the rate of CO2 in the soft trunk ‘chamber’ could be enough to be detected.

Fig. 1. Set for the Dendromacy movie, Claire Damesin and the FLIR camera, Barbeau, 2016.

We choose an oak in that forest to be the main character of our movie, and built the geodesic dome around its trunk.

With this tool, we were able to make an experimental film, showing a ritual of a common breath with a tree: Dendromacy, in intimacy with one tree. Using three different positions of the camera, it is a 1023 movie achieved in 2017. To date, it is the only film in which we can see the ‘cloud’ of CO2 produced by a portion of the tree trunk, showing for a brief and fragile moment the ‘breath’ of the tree (Figure 2).

Fig. 2. Stills from Dendromacy, 2017. Breathing of a human/concentration of CO2 from a portion of tree.

Actually, in the Dendromacy project, both human and tree CO2 emissions can be seen. But because the CO2 emission of the bark is so small, compared to the human’s one, Claire Damesin has to hold her breath while opening the plastic chamber. Both emissions are showed, but alternatively, so it can be compared.

For me, this was an opportunity to discover that one could use certain technological tools from industry or laboratory, while remaining within an artistic shape and conceptual demand. Dendromacy is a film that is showed in art centers or as part of larger experimental film programs (https://lightcone.org/fr/catalogue).

3. Listening to the soil

As part of the body of plants unfolds under our feet, in the soil, this vitality escapes our perception. The idea was born in the Rillig lab of the Freie Universität in Berlin (https://rilliglab.org/), the year before. An interesting exchange with Matthias Rillig gave rise to the idea to find ways to share with a larger audience the soil is an environment full of life and exchanges. My first idea was to be able to record the sound of the roots or mycelium growth. Back to France, and in Orsay University, I got in touch with Fanny Rybak, a bioacoustician from Isabelle Charrier’s team, at the NeuroPsi institute of the Paris-Saclay University. Aquatic ecosystems and their evolution in time through acoustic recording is studied there (for instance: Linke et al., Reference Linke, Gifford, Desjonquères, Tonolla, Aubin, Barclay, Karaconstantis, Kennard, Rybak and Sueur2018). These scientists are studying, through field recorded sounds, the quality of the biodiversity in specific fresh waters locations in time. From the recording, they are tracking the different species using bioacoustics programs such as Raven (https://ravensoundsoftware.com/) (used in Cornell U. for instance) in order to track the different frequencies of each species.

Fanny Rybak told me very quickly it could be possible to record roots, but very deceptive for an audience: waiting, maybe 2 days, for a tiny sound resulting from the movement in the soil produced by the growth of a root. When we started to work in 2017, She couldn't find any article related to ecosystem monitoring for soil, while tracking specific invertebrates has reported in different studies. (Bilski et al., Reference Bilski, Bobiński, Krajewski and Witomski2017). She was really interested in sound recordings as a non-intrusive system of soil monitoring. The second thing that seemed interesting to her was that this method could be used with a wider audience to listen to what is happening under our feet, directly on the ground.

Because she studied communication between ants previously, she had developed with a technician a tool for listening to those very faint sounds. It was a sensor made from an electronic component used to record the vibrations of industrial machines (Knowles BU-23173-000, Mouser electronics). She agreed on spending some time to try this sensor on samples of soils.

We were pleased to realise that her hunch was right: by placing soil samples in a mobile anechoic chamber (https://www.comsol.fr/model/anechoic-chamber-absorbing-electromagnetic-waves-38681)—originally intended to isolate young partridges for an experiment in her laboratory, we heard our first earthworms. The anechoic chamber was here to prevent electrical signals that could come from the lab operating from the recording device, since you have to push the volume of the Marantz PMD661 MKIII recorder, traditionally used in this lab on the field, in order to have human audible sounds. F. Rybak interest in that new experiment was to see if it could be possible to start recording some soil biotopes in order to determine the quality of its biodiversity. In her lab, those field recordings are done on aquatic biotopes through years in order to measure the biodiversity level. The live experience to listen to invertebrates’ activity with the sensor developed from the electronic component named accelerometer, is rich in empiric information. The sounds come in different ranges of qualities. To better check what was going on live, I used the anechoic chamber from F. Rybak’s lab in order to isolate different species and to listen to their different ways of moving: the intuition was that a crawling worm makes different sounds while moving in the soil than a jumping collembolans. This experiment proved me that I could be able to identify the main species from direct listening.

The first accelerometer was built with an external electric source: a battery connected to the accelerometer. But this electrical signal was very loud in the recordings. Today, with the sound artist Quentin Aurat (https://quentinaurat.com/), we improved the lab sensor in a way it is protected from electrical waves and can be used directly on the field, outdoor. He was able to plug the sensor directly into the Phantom alimentation of the recorder, a Marantz, and improved therefore the quality of the sound by suppressing one electric source.

Back to my artistic practice, it allows me to propose public workshops wherein small groups we can listen to the sound of soil, live (Figure 3). In vivo, I simply put the sensor on the soil, approximately 1 cm away from the surface. The sound is produced by the evolution of different types of scavengers, making different types of sounds on jumping, walking or crawling. The smallest soil invertebrate that can be recorded with this sensor is collembolan. Sometimes it is very clear that I can record live human activities: vibrations of cars, and even radio music can be heard in the soil. Of course, it is only empiric, recognising it by ear.

Fig. 3. Workshop in community gardens, Annecy, 2021.

Ceramic is of course clay first, and because of its inherent properties of being an inert speaker, it was the perfect material to create a sound installation for the soil sounds. I had in mind the boats ‘écoutilles’ (hatches, but in French the word comes from ‘écouter’ meaning listen to): sculptures emerging from soil surfaces, and enlarging their shapes in order to invite to come closer to listen. And because I stayed a month in the Rillig lab for an art and science residency, I started to draw fungi-shaped forms. Then the idea became clearer to offer first a microscopic landscape that has become large. A visual proposal for the audience, in order to invite them in a second time to get closer, as the sounds of the soils are becoming more perceptible (Figure 4).

Fig. 4. Listen to the soil, Nuit Blanche, Paris, Vive les Groues community garden, 2020.

A soil in good shape is noisy. The recordings of different soil samples are played back through small nomadic speakers in a series of twelve ceramic pieces reminiscent of fungi corollas. The sound pieces are placed on the ground outdoors, or on a surface of soil indoors. The recordings the public can listen to are previously made in situ when the territory allows it.

This installation (https://www.karinebonneval.com/eng/projets/ecouter-la-terre-10), carried out in collaboration with two laboratories (Rillig Lab and NeuroPsi) has given rise to publications (Rillig & Bonneval, Reference Rillig and Bonneval2020; Rillig et al., Reference Rillig, Bonneval and Lehmann2019). I met Johannes Lehmann while I was in residency at the Rillig lab, working on ‘Listen to the soil’ (https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2019/10/art-and-science-provide-fertile-ground-research-teaching#), and 6 months later he built the 2 years research project named after my project ‘Sounds of Soil—tracking soil health for targeted pest control’. This project, co-supervised by Kyle Wickings (CALS/Geneva Entomology), aimed at developing sensor technology to improve the early detection of insect pests, and lead to more judicious pesticide use in agricultural and horticultural systems, and enhanced agricultural sustainability and food security. ‘Sounds of soil’ received a Venture Fund grant from the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability in June 2018. Louise Roberts, post-doctorate associate from Cornell AgriTech Department of Entomology, started to work on it in 2019. It is an ongoing project.

Using soil sensors to characterise the presence and distribution of such pests could therefore help to reduce pesticide inputs to soil and improve agricultural sustainability.

This is also what makes my lab residencies so exciting: sometimes my artistic research can provide ideas for new scientific research.

4. Conclusion

These unconventional projects are tending to be more frequent in science labs, because the questioning and the partnerships between art and science can sometime give birth to new questioning in science, and enlarge the audience on specific scientific topics in a new way (Rillig et al., Reference Rillig, Bonneval, de Lutz, Lehmann, Mansour, Rapp, Spačal and Meyer2021).

Acknowledgements

These artistic projects would not have been possible without the collaboration of the scientists, and their labs. I would like to thank: Claire Damesin, Professor in Plant Ecophysiology, Ecology, Systematics, Evolution Laboratory, Paris-Saclay University; Fanny Rybak, Lecturer at the University of Paris-Saclay Acoustic Communications at NeuroPsi; Matthias Rillig, Professor and Director of the Rillig Lab, Ecology of Plants, Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin and Liberty Hyde Bailey, Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science Soil and Crop Sciences Section, and Department of Global Development, Cornell University. I thank the reviewers and editors for their constructive comments on the manuscript.

Financial support

Dendromacy was supported by the Diagonale Paris-Saclay Grant. Listening to the soil was supported by the Diagonale Paris-Saclay Grant, Micro Onde Art Center, DRAC Centre Val de Loire.

Conflict of interest

The author declares none.

Authorship contributions

K.B. conceived the projects and wrote the article.

Data availability statement

Neither data nor code are associated with this article.

Author biography

Karine Bonneval graduated from the European School of Image in Angoulème and the School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg. Karine Bonneval works in collaboration with different teams of scientists in plant ecophysiology, pedology, bioacoustics and physics: Institut Diversité, Ecologie et Evolution du Vivant and NeuroPsi, Orsay University, Paris-Saclay/Rillig Lab, Freïe Universität Berlin/INRAE PIAF, Clermont-Ferrand/Soil and crops science section, Cornell University, USA/Lasire, Lille. After graduating from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Angoulème and the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Strasbourg, Karine Bonneval has exhibited in France (Nuit Blanche/Domaine de Chaumont sur Loire/Micro-Onde/la Maréchalerie/la Graineterie/le Transpalette) Germany (Bourse Perspektive/Botanical museum Berlin), Latvia (Un/Green Exhibition), Denmark (AroS contemporary art museum, Haarus), USA (Cornell experimental gallery), Argentina (Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires) and Sri Lanka (Cinnamon Colomboscope). With scientist Eric Badel (INRAE PIAF) and Studio Décalé, she won the Carasso Foundation grant ‘Composer les savoirs’ in 2019.

References

Bilski, P., Bobiński, P., Krajewski, A., & Witomski, P. (2017). Detection of wood boring insects’ larvae based on the acoustic signal analysis and the artificial intelligence algorithm. Archives of Acoustics, 42, 6170. https://doi.org/10.1515/aoa-2017-0007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linke, S., Gifford, T., Desjonquères, C., Tonolla, D., Aubin, T., Barclay, L., Karaconstantis, C., Kennard, M. J., Rybak, F., & Sueur, J. (2018). Freshwater ecoacoustics as a tool for continuous ecosystem monitoring. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 16, 231238. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1779 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rillig, C. M., Bonneval, K., de Lutz, C., Lehmann, J., Mansour, I., Rapp, R., Spačal, S., & Meyer, V. (2021). Ten simple rules for hosting artists in a scientific lab. PLOS Computational Biology, 17, e1008675. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008675CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rillig, M. C., & Bonneval, K. (2020). The artist who co-authored a paper and expanded my professional network. Nature, 27. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00575-7 Google Scholar
Rillig, M. C., Bonneval, K. & Lehmann, J. (2019). Sounds of soil: A new world of interactions under our feet? Soil Systems, 3, 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems3030045 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Figure 0

Fig. 1. Set for the Dendromacy movie, Claire Damesin and the FLIR camera, Barbeau, 2016.

Figure 1

Fig. 2. Stills from Dendromacy, 2017. Breathing of a human/concentration of CO2 from a portion of tree.

Figure 2

Fig. 3. Workshop in community gardens, Annecy, 2021.

Figure 3

Fig. 4. Listen to the soil, Nuit Blanche, Paris, Vive les Groues community garden, 2020.

Author comment: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R0/PR1

Comments

I received an invitation to write a paper from Daphné Autran.As a visual artist working in collaboration with different teams of scientists, I really think it's worth to share some of my expreriences on twisting some technicals tools in order to do art installations.

Review: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R0/PR2

Conflict of interest statement

Reviewer declares none.

Comments

Comments to Author: The author proposes a description of two artistic and experimental installations, with the objective of presenting these installations as possible translators between humans and non-humans’ organisms. The approach aims in both experiments at perceiving usually undetectable non-humans’ life signs.

The installations are described directly one after the other. The first installation relates to the tree respiration process. The second one aims at detecting the sound of fauna in the underground.

The concepts sound interesting in both cases and could be of interest to the scientific community as tools used in the installations seem possibly useful for scientific measurements, but are not necessary used by scientists. In addition, art and science collaborations can be rich for both parts and could be encouraged through the publication of this kind of work.

Regarding the first installation, it aims at visualizing the CO2 produced by the trunk of a tree. This visualization is based on the use of a thermal imaging camera, with a cool lens designed to detect the CO2. A salad bell in soft plastic is sealed on the trunk, and the trunk itself is surrounded by a geodesic dome chamber in order to isolate the trunk from the wind and possible other CO2 sources. The author describes that the salad bells should be pressed to releases the CO2 accumulated in it, as the camera can only detect CO2 in movement. On pictures, it seems indeed that humans come into the dome and do press the salad bells. But then it is not explained in the text how the author could ensure that the CO2 detected by the camera is not the one expired by people who press the salad bell. The author emphasizes that the film “Dendromacy” produced on the experiment is “the only film in which we can see the "cloud" of CO2 produced by a portion of the tree trunk”. It seems then important to demonstrate that the detected could of CO2 is indeed the one coming from the tree.

In the second installation, the author first describes the recording of sound from soil samples placed in a mobile anechoic chamber, to prevent from parasite sounds. She then explains, before getting to the installation itself, that a modification of the recorder allowed recording in the field directly, but it is unclear what kind of modification was done, and how the author then proceeds: does she simply put the microphone into the soil? at which depth? How does she ensure that vibrations are indeed produced by the underground organisms (and not proximal water movement, steps nearby, machines in the neighborhood of the experimental plot…), and how does she identify that “the smallest soil invertebrate that can be recorded with this sensor is collembolan”?

In general, the article lacks precisions. For example, it would have been interesting to know more about how the camera exactly functions in the first experiment or about the way the author and her collaborator proceeded to modify the recorder in order to be able to use it in the field in the second experiment. It should mainly be described more in details how the author exactly proceeds for each measurement.

It also lacks a proper rigorous frame to present these experiments: I would have appreciated an introduction, presenting briefly the interest of science and art collaborations, some existing examples of science and art collaborations regarding, if existing, the translation of non-humans life signs into understandable signs to humans, and if not, what has been done in art and science around plants and underground fauna. Elements about what is usually measured or studied by the scientific teams the author interacted with and how these collaborations have raised their interest also would have fitted in this introduction.

A discussion/conclusion would also be very interesting, showing how in both cases the science-art collaboration enriched both parts, and why these installations provide new scientific opportunities to the researchers who collaborated with the author – and what are maybe the limits to it, which could open new perspectives of collaborations.

Finally, some problems should be noted on references. Reference 12, which is the only scientific reference, from the author of this article and in collaboration with the scientist who worked with her on detecting the sound of underground fauna, is listed in but not quoted in the text. A link is missing on reference 8, and reference 9, quoted in the text, does not appear in the list. Pictures are also not referenced: they should appear with numbers and be commented in the text.

I would recommend that the author rewrite the article in collaboration with the scientists she worked with, in order to also get their input and their views on the experiments and discuss how the art and science collaborations they participated open new perspectives to their own work.

Review: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R0/PR3

Conflict of interest statement

Reviewer declares none.

Comments

Comments to Author: In this article entitled “Translators to weave with the non-humans”, Karine Bonneval reports on two of her projects, Dendromacy and Listening to the soil, two installations dealing with her attempt in collaboration with scientists, to exploit and eventually divert technological tools to address as such fascinating questions as the relationships between humans and non-humans, in this case plants and soil organisms.

Dendromacy nicely shows how technological devices originally developed for industrial purposes can be deviated by artists and scientists ending up with a fascinating installation pinpointing this fundamental property that humans and trees are sharing: breathing. Using a cool lens thermal camera the author and her collaborator evidence the release of CO2 by an Oaktree within Barbeau’s forest, while the tree is set into a geodesic greenhouse dome that represents a chamber where intimacy of the tree-human interaction is thereby preserved.

Listening to the soil aims at revealing to a large audience the richness and complexity of the soil, this environment which exists just under our feet. Once again, the author and her collaborator elegantly exploit some sensor developed for industrial purposes to record the sound produced by soil samples first, and even directly in the field, following some technical improvements.

As far as a scientist can tell, this manuscript is written in an unusual way, with respect to the expected canonical structure of a scientific article (background, material and methods, results, discussion..) but it reads nicely and many of these information is in fact provided. I feel however that some references and/or background are missing, for instance regarding the use of acoustics to address ecological questions. It is for instance mentioned that aquatic ecosystems have been investigated using such a strategy previously, this study being the first one to focus on the soil component. Can this be developed? More info about the interest of acoustic-based strategies to study biodiversity “quality” and the potential it has when adapted to new environments would be of interest for the reader, and would allow to better emphasize how the eye of an artist may change the perspectives and project of a scientist.

In Listening to the soil the author also reports on a workshop where the sound of different jumping, crawling or walking invertebrates would have been detected. It is a bit unclear how this specific information was obtained. I feel like giving some more input about these results would be helpful. My last comment is about the authorship of this contribution. I was surprised that Bonneval is the sole author while she refers to the project as the fruit of a collaboration with several scientific teams and cite many colleagues as collaborators. Did they not earn their name as co-author ?

Overall, I find it quite fascinating in this art & science interplay history artists and scientists seem to co-lead each other into directions that they would have never considered without the other. Both installations are the perfect illustrations of a successful trans-disciplinary collaboration.

Additional minor comments :

- English sometimes needs to be polished (grammar) and some words are missing here and there.

- Ref 8 : why is this type of information given as a ref, or a note ?

- Ref 9 is missing

- P9 : “she had developed with a NeuroPsi technician”, rephrase. Nobody knows what NeuroPsi refers to at this point.

Recommendation: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R0/PR4

Comments

Comments to Author: Dear Karine Bonneval,

We have now received comments on your manuscript from two scientific reviewers. Both reviewers are enthusiastic about the art and science collaborations presented, but proposed a number of revisions which seem constructive to improve the manuscript, notably to reach a scientific audience.

Reviewer 2 suggested to accept the manuscript providing his/her suggestions are addressed. Although Reviewer 1 asked to rewrite the manuscript (implying a new submission), I feel that a complete rewriting is not necessary, but part of her/his comments should be included. For instance, in Dendromacy, the question of whether CO2 emission are registered, only from the tree, or from both human and tree; should be clarified. If both respirations are actually measured, this could allow to develop your concept of “intimacy chamber”? Both reviewers also asked more precisions on the experimental set up for sound recording in the second installation: which kind of adaptations have been made, and how the source of the sounds are identified? Reviewer 1 also suggested to include a short introduction and conclusion, to put the work in a broader perspective. Finally, both reviewers proposed to involve the scientific collaborators of the works, possibly as co-authors. In my opinion, co-authorship is not mandatory, and up to your decision – adding acknowledgements is possible as well – but at least a feedback from the scientific collaborators might be a good point, which would highlight the true pluri/trans-disciplinary nature of your endeavor.

Also, a number of problems in the references have been pointed by the reviewers, and the figures should be numbered and cited along the text, as noted by reviewer 1.

Therefore, we would be glad to consider a corrected version of your manuscript, addressing all Reviewer 2’s comments, and parts of Reviewer 1’s comments as suggested above. An accompanying letter listing point-by-point the main modifications, would be appreciated.

Looking forward to reading your manuscript,

Best regards

Daphné Autran

Decision: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R0/PR5

Comments

No accompanying comment.

Author comment: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R1/PR6

Comments

Visual artist working with different teams of scientists in order to create art installation, I had the chance to use measuring tools of different kinds. For this specific purpose, the tool where sometimes divert from their scientific use, but the relationships buidlt during my residency times in labs are the opportunity to open sometimes the fields of questioning for the science people I have the chance to work with.

Review: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R1/PR7

Comments

Comments to Author: Dear Author,

I am pleased with this revised version which I recommend for publication. I have just noticed a few sentences that need some corrections or further light improvements :

L106 : word and not world

L108-109 : please correct, english incorrect

L134 : please correct, phrasing incorrect

L163 : Cornell U., nor Cornell.,

L163: track, not tracks

L167 : started, not start

L168: delete “to report”

L169: “..specific invertebrates had reported in..”

L172 : English

L195 : than and not that

L195-196 : please rephrase last sentence (English)

Recommendation: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R1/PR8

Comments

Comments to Author: Dear Karine,

Your revised manuscript has been now accepted by reviewer, providing a few corrections listed in his/her comments below. I fully agree with his opinion and also recommend publication after these slight modifications.

Could you please perform these corrections and send us back your manuscript ?

Many thanks in advance

Best regards

Daphné

Decision: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R1/PR9

Comments

No accompanying comment.

Author comment: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R2/PR10

Comments

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Recommendation: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R2/PR11

Comments

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Decision: Translators to weave with the non-humans — R2/PR12

Comments

No accompanying comment.