My Mouth as a Plants Pot

My Mouth as a Plant’s Pot is a public art installation by the artist Zoe Ze Zhou that reimagines the human body as ecological infrastructure. In the work, the artist transforms her mouth into a place where plants can germinate. Traditionally associated with speech, consumption, and authority, the mouth here takes on a new ecological meaning: it becomes a space that holds soil, shapes microclimate, and sustains the conditions plants need to live.
The installation is distinctive in the way it directly combines living plants with the human body, rather than representing nature through symbols or metaphors. Plants actually grow inside the mouth; breathing helps regulate the microclimate; and the artist’s physical endurance becomes part of the daily care required to keep them alive. The project combines biometric scanning and digital fabrication to create a structure that fits precisely within the human mouth. The interior of the mouth was first captured through 3D scanning, and the data was translated into a digital model. Prototypes were produced through 3D printing to test scale and spatial fit. The final structure was cast using food-grade silicone, creating a flexible and body-safe interface. This custom structure provides space for plant placement while allowing airflow and moisture to circulate within the mouth. The mouth is transformed into a micro-ecosystem, where plants coexist briefly with humans.
My Mouth as a Plant’s Pot creates an intimate and slightly unsettling encounter rather than relying on spectacle, breaking the boundaries between host and habitat. This encourages viewers to reflect on the ways everyday human behavior often takes resources from nature without noticing it. It also invites them to rethink humanity’s place within ecological systems—not as absolute rulers, but as living beings that can be inhabited by nature. In this way, the work extends the discussion of bio-art beyond the art world and into the realm of civic consciousness and ethics. It raises a simple but important question: if humans truly want to live with nature, are we willing to give up some control and be inhabited by it? This question invites viewers to critically reflect on contemporary ecological practices.