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Electronic Ginseng

 

3-D Embroidered Drawing with Electronic Interaction


Electronic Ginseng are sculptural fabric ginseng with embroidered leaves, stems, and roots. They are still until the leaves are touched, when a lighted recognition is indicated by the berries' LEDs.


Wild ginseng challenges an east toward west production and trade model. In Chinese medicine, American Ginseng has a calming effect to balance its Yang cousin, Asian ginseng. American ginseng is highly sought after in China and a complex cultivation and trade industry has grown around the demand. The ginseng plant grows wild in Appalachia and has served as sole or supplemental income for generations of Appalachian families. The wild plant can be elusive and is thought to evade discovery and harvest. This project concerns ginseng's tricky biological, mythologoical, and economic lore. Lilypad Arduino and custom electronics mediate the interaction.