Welcome to the Dark Side
BIOLUMINESCENT ART
Fireflies at Night, 2020, Usadadanuki
"Genji and Princess fireflies dance around in the shrine. In the pitch-dark precincts of the shrine, these fireflies looked like a flowing river of lights. "-Usadadanuki.
Bioluminescent art is an amalgam of science and creativity. In a wondrous combination of nature and design, bioluminescent art involves naturally glowing bacteria to create intricate and deliberate formations only visible when the lights are out.
See
Artists and scientists are enamored with the magical qualities of bioluminescence. But, look carefully at how the artists below have captured or utilized this natural substance in their art. Which method is more awe-inspiring? Can anyone beat nature at its own game?
Infinity Cube, 2017, Iyvone Khoo
Infinity Cube is a multimedia installation consisting of an 8 ft × 8 ft reflective cube with projections, reflections, and sound. According to the artist, Infinity Cube is “a ‘sensorial space’ of visual and sound stimuli, a space where one can experience the otherworldly phenomenon of bioluminescence, created by video projections accompanied by soundscapes. The viewer is immersed inside a luminous realm of electric blue; an illusion of endless space stretches beyond the imaginary dimensions of an infinity cube.” (ASLO)
OBON (PUERTO RICO)
Bodhi (Ficus Religiosa) Skeleton Leaves, Resin, Phosphorescence, Water, Miya Ando, and L. Young
“The leaves sat in the pond all day and were very unassuming and clear but all the while they were absorbing light. Then visitors arrived and in the darkness I was amazed because there were so many people at the unveiling yet it was totally quiet as people stood and sat at the edge of the pond and just watched these little leaves glowing and floating and moving slowly around.”
Yet another unorthodox use of the phenomenon of bioluminescence came forth from artist Miya Ando and photographer L. Young. With a different kind of bioluminescence, Ando’s exhibit involved 1,000 Bodhi leaves being released in a pond, the leaves being painted with a nontoxic glowing phosphorescent pigment; the project was inspired by the ancient Japanese festival, Obon.
Living Drawings, Hunter Cole
Another series of bioluminescent bacteria drawings were done by artist and geneticist Hunter Cole called ‘Living Drawings,’ driven by the concept of life and death. The artist also worked on a series called ‘Living Light,’ in which she photographed people and objects using only the light of bioluminescent bacteria.
The bioluminescent bacteria create their own light via the expression of the lux genes. Hunter Cole created controlled line drawings using bioluminescent bacteria. First, the bacteria are allowed to grow in the host environment, followed by their participation as collaborators in the art as they grow.
Say
“I was on the Pacific coast in Mexico in a turtle sanctuary, and it was a very dark night. I could see the Milky Way and the infinite amount of stars above me. There was a bloom happening so the bioluminescent waves were crashing onto the beach and you could see this luminous glow of infinite amounts of tiny little dots of light. That was the moment that I realized the microcosm and the macrocosm, with me right in the middle. That was the moment when I got my inspiration”. -Iyvone Khoo
When have you been inspired or awed by nature?
Have you ever tried to capture a sunset photo, and it cannot hold up to the beauty you see before you? Why do you think that is the case? Could it be that the camera edits something essential from experience, or is it merely the limitations of technology?
Have you had the opportunity to (or would you like to) experience bioluminescence? How did it (or might it) make you feel?
Do
Read this Sierra Club article about The Science of Awe.
Watch Jervis Bay After Dark to experience some sense of the bioluminescence in action.
Watch to learn more about the science behind bioluminescence.
Please share your reflections with me by replying to this post and tagging my Wonder Wander Facebook or Instagram pages!
