The Blooming Archive

Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, London, UK · 2026

ACM Creativity & Cognition 2026 ("Creativity for Change") — Art Track, 13–16 July 2026

Yawei Zhao, Zheng Yuan, Jiang Ke, Zuona Chen, Jieyu Wang, Anca-Simona Horvath and Pan Hui

The Blooming Archive is an interactive installation using a pool of 300 of images of orchids, and the DNA genome sequence of an ancestral orchid (Apostasia shenzhenica). Audiences can interact with the DNA data and evolve their own digital orchid traits. The work deals with classification in the natural sciences, and invites audiences to consider how sought after ornamental plants such as the orchids have (been) shaped (by) global trade.