Pheno-data: using tomatoes to rethink data and data practice for ecological worlds

Abstract

Notions of data increasingly revolve around digital representations prioritizing the efficiency and productivity of global economic-systems, often side-lining tangible and local information that is crucial for ‘more-than-human’ worlds. To challenge this, we propose the concept of, “Pheno-data,” which aims to embody the livingness of the lifeworld through the evolving characteristics and responses of organisms. We also introduce, “Pheno-fication”, as a means to access Pheno-data, and use tomatoes to exemplify the process. Through a fabulation workshop, we integrate these concepts into design practice in order to tangibly explore their potential for shifting perspectives from an anthropocentric to an ecological viewpoint.