Beyond Pitaya (Phase II)
Beyond Pitaya (Phase II) emerges from my family’s long-standing practice of cultivating fire dragon fruit in Shanghai—a plant native to tropical climates, now forced to adapt to colder weather, unfamiliar soil, and seasonal typhoons. Watching my parents nurture this non-native crop taught me that adaptation is not submission, but an ongoing act of care, improvisation, and negotiation between human and environment.
In this second phase, the piece transforms from a responsive light sculpture into a motorized, kinetic structure. Like the Queen of the Night flower, it blooms open, then contracts into a fruit-like form, echoing the ridged, layered body of a dragon fruit. This movement from openness to enclosure is a physical metaphor for how life survives: by continuously shaping and being shaped by its surroundings.
Year of Creation
2025
Type
Kinetic Interactive Sculpture
Materials
Custom acrylic panels, LED strips, lead screw motors, metal frames, laser-cut components, 3D printed parts (PLA, TPU, ABS), Arduino ESP32 Nano
Exhibited at One ART Space
Interaction Test At Night
Idea&Concept Render Version
Conceptual Framing
Beyond Pitaya (Phase II) reimagines adaptation as an embodied, ongoing negotiation between human and environment. Drawing from my family's experience cultivating fire dragon fruit in Shanghai—a plant far from its native tropical climate—the work transforms the fruit’s struggle to survive into a metaphor for biocultural resilience.
The sculpture’s movement mirrors the lifecycle of the pitaya itself: from the ephemeral bloom of the Queen of the Nightto the formation of its dense, armored fruit. This transition—from openness to enclosure—is not linear, but cyclical and responsive. It speaks to the tension between exposure and protection, between becoming and being.
The form is designed to envelop the viewer—inviting them to step inside a living organism in flux. This gesture of being held is not passive. It asks: what does it mean to be embraced by something that is still adapting? In that space, the viewer is not an observer, but a participant in transformation.
To adapt is not to disappear into one’s surroundings, but to continuously shape and be shaped by them. The pitaya—struggling to grow in unfamiliar soil—becomes a model for this active, evolving relationship. In Beyond Pitaya, that logic is made physical, mechanical, and poetic.
Kinetic Movement Simulation
Structure Fabrication
Motion Engineering
To evoke the blooming and closing behavior of the fruit, I designed a vertical motion system based on lead screw mechanics. The internal framework uses a push-pull mechanism to raise and contract the outer shell with calibrated timing. Motion sequences were simulated using Fusion 360 and validated through physical prototyping. The movement is not just structural—it is performative: slow, deliberate, and echoing biological rhythms.
Form Construction
The outer structure of the sculpture draws from the layered geometry of the dragon fruit—its ridged skin, overlapping folds, and spiked contours. These elements were translated into a modular system of interlocking acrylic panels, laser-cut for precision and designed to connect at specific stress points. Rather than replicating a fruit, the form abstracts its symbolic complexity—at once organic, protective, and foreign.
Material & Structural Stability
Power Management & Control Logic
To ensure the safe operation of electronic components, the system incorporates multiple voltage regulators to distribute power appropriately across motors, sensors, and microcontrollers. High-current devices are isolated from logic-level circuitry to prevent overload and electrical noise. The ESP32 microcontroller orchestrates the behavior of the entire system through modular code—synchronizing motor sequences, regulating LED effects, and processing radar input. Each routine is timed to avoid conflict and calibrated to create smooth, lifelike responses.
User Test
Interaction Logic & Control Testing
The installation’s interaction system is designed with safety and clarity in mind. Rather than reacting to every stimulus, the structure employs conditional logic to filter input and prevent false triggers. Using radar sensors and gesture thresholds, the system only initiates motion after detecting sustained presence or repeated gestures—reducing the chance of accidental activation.
Each cycle includes a built-in reset sequence, ensuring the structure always returns to a neutral, safe position after movement. This prevents mechanical stress from accumulating and guarantees that each viewer experiences a complete, predictable transformation.
The codebase is structured to prioritize human-machine harmony: motion timing, sensor thresholds, and cooldown intervals are carefully tuned through iterative testing. What results is not just an interactive system, but a considered choreography between machine and participant.
Exhibition Onsite Photos
Exhibition & Reception
The piece was widely praised for its balance of emotional resonance and engineering precision. Visitors returned multiple times to observe how different bodies interacted with the form, and how the structure seemed to respond with a rhythm of its own.
As recognition of its impact, Beyond Pitaya (Phase II) received the Audience Choice Award—the only such honor awarded in the 2025 Pratt Interactive Art MFA Thesis Show.