Estepona’s orchids will create music in a new interactive installation

The orchids at Estepona’s Botanical Park-Orchidarium are about to become part of a highly unusual artistic experience: creating music from their own bioelectrical activity. The venue will unveil ‘Listening to the Invisible’ on Sunday 25 October at 10:00 am, combining nature, art and technology in a new permanent installation.

How can orchids create music?

Plants do not naturally produce musical notes, but they do generate small electrical variations linked to their physiological processes and to changes in their surroundings, such as light, humidity, temperature and the presence of visitors.

The installation uses sensors attached to living orchids to continuously record these bioelectrical variations. The data is then sent to an audiovisual system that converts it into musical parameters such as rhythm, pitch, intensity and timbre.

Each plant controls its own virtual instrument

One of the most interesting aspects of the project is that every orchid connected to the system controls a different virtual instrument.

The signals from several plants are combined to produce a composition that constantly evolves.

As a result, the music is not pre-recorded and never sounds exactly the same twice.

The music is also transformed into visuals

The experience is not limited to sound.

The same bioelectrical data also changes visual elements projected onto a central screen in real time.

Digital particles and 3D orchid models

The electrical variations affect the movement and density of digital particles, as well as the behaviour of three-dimensional models representing different orchid species.

Visitors therefore experience both a visual and musical interpretation of the plants’ activity at the same time.

A permanent attraction at Estepona’s Orchidarium

Although the installation will debut during the 11th Orchid and Collector’s Plant Fair, ‘Listening to the Invisible’ will remain permanently at the Orchidarium.

That means future visitors will also be able to experience it long after the opening weekend.

Alejandro Fernández is behind the project

The work was developed by artist and researcher Alejandro Fernández at Molino Lab, an experimental art space based in Salamanca.

The installation forms part of his wider project ‘Sinfonía Biótica’, which explores new ways of translating biological processes into artistic experiences.

A bridge between science and art

The aim is to make something normally hidden perceptible to visitors.

The electrical signals generated by plants exist, but people cannot hear them directly.

The system translates those signals into music, movement and digital imagery, turning biological data into an artistic interpretation.

The launch coincides with Estepona’s Orchid Fair

The new installation will be one of the highlights of the 11th Orchid and Collector’s Plant Fair, taking place over the weekend of 24 and 25 October.

The event will bring together specialist stalls dedicated to orchids and other collector plants around the Orchidarium.

Workshops on orchids and carnivorous plants

The programme also includes introductory orchid-growing workshops on Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 am, as well as a session dedicated to carnivorous plants on Saturday at 5:00 pm.

Places for the workshops are limited and advance booking is required.

Everything you need to know

Launch date: Sunday 25 October 2026
Time: 10:00 am
Venue: Estepona Botanical Park-Orchidarium
Location: Calle Terraza, Estepona
Experience: ‘Listening to the Invisible’
Format: interactive audiovisual installation
Duration: permanent installation

The project adds a new dimension to one of Estepona’s most distinctive botanical attractions: the orchids will no longer be something visitors simply look at, but also the source of an ever-changing sound and visual experience.