Fern blossom ֍✧

In one of his interviews, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson speaks about how, during cremation, human particles are released into the atmosphere as infrared radiation, dispersing back into the wider cosmos. In response to this idea, someone proposed that perhaps our final ethical act could instead be returning our used molecules back to the Earth’s flora and fauna rather than releasing them into industrial systems of cremation or ecologically harmful burial practices.

This simulation emerged from reflecting on those thoughts. Although alternative burial methods such as tree or forest burials are becoming more imaginable, they still often remain legally uncertain, inaccessible, or culturally distant. The work therefore approaches the idea symbolically and poetically, imagining a form of return where human matter re-enters ecological cycles more intimately.

I chose the fern as the central figure because it belongs to the forest floor, a space where decay, moisture, growth, and transformation continuously coexist. In Baltic folklore, the mythical fern blossom is said to appear only briefly and to grant fortune, hidden knowledge, or the ability to understand the language of nature and animals. Here it becomes a poetic symbol of return to the Earth.

Technical: made with Houdini​​​​​​​, particle simulation set-up from Steven Knipping's Applied Houdini Particles series.

2024