How can visual communication explore emotions between plants and humans? – Plants are not just plants; they are also a childhood friend, memories of a friend, or the only greens in the office room.
This project investigates the emotional and psychological connections between humans and plants through visual communication. Inspired by personal experiences and research, the study explores how caring for plants can reduce stress, improve mood, and foster a sense of responsibility. The research includes observations of classroom interactions with plants, experiments with peers, and artistic inspirations from creators like Kentipz and Anton Gudim. The final deliverables, a webcomic zine, aim to visually articulate the silent yet profound relationship between humans and plants, highlighting their mutual benefits. By documenting these interactions, the project underscores the importance of integrating greenery into everyday spaces for emotional well-being and sustainability.
“We take care of the plants; plants take care of us!”
– Dr Sven Bate
Do you have plants in your workingarea?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone needs to stay home and work from home instead of going to the office, and during that time, we are also lacking the connection with nature. At that time, people who have a yard start to plant a lot of edible plants, and people who don’t have a yard are planting indoors on their balconies or windowsills. After the pandemic CV-19, there are still a lot of people working at home, and the home has become one of their working offices too.
How can we show this idea with visual communication?
The primary goal of this project is to observe and document the interaction between humans and plants in the classroom, to understand how plants affect our emotions and how we learn about meaning with responsibility. By studying these interactions, I aim to demonstrate the potential benefits of incorporating plants into everyday environments.
This comic is about a radish that woke up 1000 years later and realized there are big changes, humans and non-humans have become so friendly and share the society. I named the character ‘’Rito’’ , it is the main character in this comic. Sharing stories from friends and families.
The comic is in Chinese because I am using a Chinese platform ‘’red note’’ to share this comic. This comic is targeted at office workers and students, who can read when they are in the toilet.
What did people learn?
What the reader can learn from the comic is the meaningful intersections between humans and plants and the emotional and psychological benefits of having plants in everyday spaces like classrooms and offices. In this context, understanding how caring for plants leads to personal growth and stronger emotional connections is essential. By growth, I mean that when people take care of the plant, the plant also takes care of us. When we care for the plant, we can enjoy moments of mental breaks or generate more creative ideas while watering or simply gazing at the plant.
To continue reading this comic, here is the link.
Chinese version
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:f90dbfb2-eb7d-4468-a590-6dba2dd5de01
English version
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:dab1d426-6d0d-40ea-9812-69983b8be389
