Bioprinter by Vilnius Academy of Arts

The BIOPRINTER project offers a unique data experience by utilizing living moss for data visualization.
The project is based on the idea that data describing a natural phenomenon can hide not only the phenomenon’s features relevant to experts, but also eventful narratives and fascinating stories that are interesting to a mass audience. The data chosen for the project describe a climate change scenario, specifically reflecting the future change in precipitation in Lithuania.
To implement the project, an artificial ecosystem was created, using fire moss (Latin: Ceratodon purpureus) as a means of data expression. Moss was grown by controlling the amount of water and light, which correlated with data values. A local ecosystem caused the formation of a multi-colored surface map with different textures, where areas of moss of different appearances represented the values of rain data - droughts, floods, or usual climates.