Each flower has its spring #Diaspora Botanica
A digital experience to rediscover that, for every flower, there is a different “spring” by Greta Cesaris and Cora Kindermann
Flowers and seasons
Botanical life unfolds according to rhythms that rarely align with the rigid structures through which humans categorize time and space. While seasons are often understood as universal cycles, plants respond instead to situated conditions: climate, soil, displacement, care, and adaptation. Across processes of botanical diaspora, species migrate, re-root, and flourish in environments that differ from their place of origin, developing alternative temporalities of growth and flowering.
Blooming emerges not as a fixed seasonal event, but as a plural and relational moment shaped by context, resilience, and the possibility of belonging beyond predefined boundaries.
Each flowers has its spring
In this concept we explored flowering as a plural and situated condition. Through four virtual gardens corresponding to different seasons, selected flowers bloom not according to a single universal timeline, but following their own temporal logic. Each flower carries its own “spring,” understood as a moment of emergence and beauty that can occur beyond ideal or expected seasonal conditions.
The project is conceived as an interactive video installation that questions the idea of a single, universal “spring,” understood as a fixed season of blooming. Instead, each flower carries its own spring: its own time, the context in which it blooms, and its own moment of beauty.
Process
The project was developed as an interactive video installation using TouchDesigner and hand tracking with MediaPipe. The installation is activated through hand gestures: one gesture triggers the blooming of the flowers, while another allows the transition between seasons. The installation is a digital experience to discover and rediscover that, for every flower, there is a different “spring”.
The installation is a digital experience to discover and rediscover that, for every flower, there is a different “spring”.
Time is introduced as a visible and symbolic element of the installation. Alongside the blooming flowers, the months corresponding to each season are displayed, accompanied by a progression of days passing over time. This temporal layer does not function as a precise measurement, but as a visual metaphor for cyclical time, duration, and seasonal rhythm, reinforcing the idea that blooming unfolds across different temporal conditions.
Final interactive installation
The final installation presents the work as an interactive environment in which viewers engage with a sequence of virtual seasonal gardens. Through gesture-based interaction, the audience activates the blooming of flowers and navigates between seasons, while visual indicators of months and passing days accompany each scene. The installation creates a contemplative space where time, growth, and beauty are revealed through interaction, inviting viewers to reflect on flowering as a plural process.
Interactive video system developed in TouchDesigner. Hand gesture detection is used to trigger the blooming of the flowers and to navigate between seasonal scenes in real time, demonstrating the functionality and responsiveness of the interaction design. Copyright: Greta Cesaris and Cora Kindermann
The video shows the interactive installation in use, where hand gestures activate the blooming of the flowers and allow transitions between seasons. Copyright: Greta Cesaris and Cora Kindermann
The project members
Greta Cesaris is a product designer currently pursuing an M.A. degree in Advanced Product Design in Italy, including a one-year study abroad program in Cologne at KISD (Koln International School of Design). She is exploring the field of interactive installations and emerging technologies, combining product design with digital tools and experimentation.
- Website
Instagram: @gretaris_design
Cora Alice Kindermann is currently pursuing a B.A. degree in Integrated Design at TH Köln / KISD. Her work focuses on interaction design and image and motion, exploring how visual media and interactive systems can create meaningful experiences.
Instagram: _coraalice_
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Lorenzo Franci for the technical support that contributed to the realization of this project.