DIARY_WEDNESDAY 19/01/11

A previous architectural project done by Steve Pike in 2001 also included microbes into an architectural design. He created portable monitor cells that included different types of media and exposed them to particular locations in order to capture their attendant microbes.

http://www.arcolony.com

Notes on his project:

• Monitor cells - exposed to particular locations and their attendant microbes to identify those specific to a given environment.
• Aspergillus - common in fabric of our built environment
• Micrococcus - populating the surface of our skin
• Competing for colonial territory
• Distinct microbes associated to plant, fruit, bread or diary material are responsible to unique visual transformations, revealing an almost epidemiological history
• Structure, facilitators, inhibitors, moisture extracts and photo sources support the flourishing growth
• Media - potato dextrose + agar or BG 11 + agar solutions

Associations with microorganisms:

she:

increasing

disgusting

negative

harmful

infection

altering

destroying

can change properties (milk, cheese,...)

causes mutations i.e. in plants, trees...

overpowering

out of control

he:

unhygienic

lurking

everywhere

danger

biological

small - invisible

in constant change

fascination

dislike

no differentiation between like and dislike - just negative

panicking

part of biological cycles

me:

system within a system

follow certain rules

metabolical processes

relationship to their environment

character

necessary / destroying

harmless when under control

harmful when overpowering other systems

adaptive to their environment

part of our environment / of us

bizarre / uncanny

beautiful / disgusting

our relationship to them not obvious

they can change our behaviour, we can change their behaviour

we judge / experience them usually by their reaction with the environment (infections...) otherwise invisible to us

negative image

our body serves as a host that houses and controls microorganism all the time

living organisms

they need food to grow

colonising / separation / social network / territories

different species depending on the environment

they can die and being destroyed - collapse of a system

antibiotics

they usually become visible when overpowering other species

laboratories - controlled growing

free environments - unpredictable results change of behaviour

contamination of structures via aerial flow or direct contact

change through different media, temperature, light...

invisible on a superficial level

visible through growing or zooming in - fundamental characteristics

disgusting insect that turns inside out (metamorphosis)

counterparts of the image we are clean

own character / personality

The Tree Man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJLG85gn0bc

Erno Erik_Bacteriograms: http://www.microbialart.com/galleries/erno-erik-raitanen/

DIARY_MONDAY 19/01/11

Phrase out of my synopsis:

In order to underline the metabolical statement, an experiment with a living biotope, inspired by Eduardo Kacís installation 'Specimen of Secrecy about Marvellous Discoveries' (Kac, 2004/06) will be set up and hopefully integrated in a final installation that allows different individuals to take part.

http://www.ekac.org/specimen.html

What sort of 'biotope' could I set up, what sort of living organisms shall I use, which ones would underline the idea of the mask processes, daily actions wit our environment, etc... and which organisms would I actually be able to collect and grow?

By doing some research I came across this website:

http://www.microbialart.com/2011/01/microbiota/

"Microbiota is a photographic installation that maps bacterial life in the city of Kingston. Blending microbiological protocols with artistic vision, the artist reveals invisible yet ubiquitous aspects of our shared environments. This collection of bacterial photographs from various locations in Kingston were sampled, cultured and photographed during the summer of 2010, and aims to raise public awareness of the unseen bacterial environment around us."

(Julia Krolik, 2010)

What are Microbes?

microbe (noun)

a microorganism, esp. a bacterium causing disease or fermentation.

ORIGIN late 19th cent.: from French, from Greek mikros 'little' + bios 'live' (dict.)

A microorganism; also spelt micro-organism, micro organismor microbe is an organism that is unicellular or lives in a colony of cellular organisms.

Microorganisms are very diverse; they include bacteria, fungi, archaea, and protists; microscopic plants (green algae); and animals such as plankton and the planarian.

Microorganisms live in all parts of the biosphere where there is liquid water, including soil, hot springs, on the ocean floor, high in the atmosphere and deep inside rocks within the Earthís crust. Microorganisms are critical to nutrient recycling in ecosystems as they act as decomposers. As some microorganisms can fix nitrogen, they are a vital part of the nitrogen cycle, and recent studies indicate that airborne microbes may play a role in precipitation and weather.[4]

Microbes are also exploited by people in biotechnology, both in traditional food and beverage preparation, and in modern technologies based on genetic engineering. However, pathogenic microbes are harmful, since they invade and grow within other organisms, causing diseases that kill people, other animals and plants. (wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microorganism

If microbes are on us, in us, around us, they are part of our shared everyday environment, why not use them and their character to reveal our interactions with life.

How can I collect them?

How can I cultivate them?

Will need a contact to a microbiologist...

How can I document them and incorporate into my project?

Insructions: http://www.scienceenterprises.com/growingbacteria.aspx

material I need for a start:

petri dishes_nutrient agar as medium_iodine solution (an antibacterial)_sterile cotton swabs_sterile distilled water for dry surfaces_chicken/vegetable/beef broth or other rich media.

DIARY_SUNDAY 16/01/11

Continuation of the Mole Man Site drawing.

Overlaying the print "walking the fence" with the path drawing. Highlighting the monotony of the path along the protecting fence around the site, to the point where I got enticed by the changes in the fence, like the colour of the door and the holes that allowed me to get an glimpse of the other side. Although I was not able to overlook the whole situation, by the change of my position around the holes I got a sort of patchwork image of the behind. Space for imagination...

Associations with the drawings:

• print of the whole walk around the site on one sheet - limitations to what we experience that triggers our association / imagination
• blurred, imperfect picture underlines how we perceive, reflect our environment. The gaps in the print itself leave us space for interpretation / imagination and individual completion. The monotonous corrugated iron fence reflects the monotonous perception we have of our surrounding through routine.
• the holes in the fence are the only strong contours in the image. As in the real situation of the site they are the enticing points that trigger the observer to change his perspective and dig deeper, to look behind the skin of the fence.
• starting points for interaction with the site.
• through the peepholes we can glimpse the behind in limited but sharp cut-out views. The observer is forced to change his position in order to collect further sections of the behind that help him to puzzle the stored pictures to one piece.
• curiosity and the patchwork of his reality and imagination makes the spy to a participant of the site.