Debuted for the 2023 Ingenuity Festival, 2023-present

Uses ESP32/Arduino, FastLED, PainlessMesh. Approx. 18 devices were hung in the Enchanted Forest trees installation, above the audience, communicating within a mesh network. Occasionally an individual will randomly choose to change color or pattern. Once doing so, it broadcasts messages to the network of devices, inviting its fellow creatures to match its updated state. These changes propagate through the mesh leading to stable, fractured, and changing group behavior. The probabilities chosen for the first version lead to gradual change with points of relative chaos and many more moments of relative stasis.

In 2024, the piece expanded to approximately 25 individuals as the trees installation expanded. The individuals evolved a bit to use pebble-style LEDs instead of tape-style. Some jellies had 4 appendages instead of 3. Composite individuals appeared—three sets of legs attached to one "brain".

In 2026, the network of jellies will expand again to fill the entire festival footprint... Plus some special additions to our growing fluther.

Version 1 - September 2023
Music Is Art - Buffalo, NY
Ingenuity Festival - Cleveland, OH

Version 2 - September 2024 - present
Ingenuity Festival - Cleveland, OH

Version 3 [full building + a "special guest"] - September 2026
Ingenuity Festival - Cleveland, OH