Xylem is based on the process of vein formation in leaves. While scientists are not certain why venation patterns form the way they do, the leading hypothesis is that transport of the plant hormone auxin is the driving force. Auxin is produced in the growing portion of the leaf. As it is transported from cell to cell a positive feedback mechanism ensures that it is more likely to flow where it has flowed before, like water progressively digging a trench in soil to form a channel.

Xylem takes this method of growth and tests its boundaries, changes its context. We both show the breadth of possible patterning and create impossible, unnatural forms combining the geometric and the organic.

The name of the line comes from one of the two plant tissues that make up leaf veins. The xylem cells transport water and minerals from the root to the leaves, while phloem cells act as a conduit for distributing the sugars produced in the leaves to the rest of the plant. The leaf veins themselves form a complex (often redundant) network that manages the flow of fluids through the leaf and also provides structural support.