Cells in suspension
Artists - Hannah Riley, Franky Bruce, Gia Paulse, Moesha Sias, Mixo Mhlongo
Supervisor - Professor Fritha Langerman
IDM Collaborators - Dr Rozanne Adams and Mr Tim Reid, Flow Cytometry technology platform
Artists' Statement
Our installation reimagines cells through the visual language of a scatter plot graph, a way of analyzing data in flow cytometry, which is a technology that analyses single cellular structures using light. By translating this process into an artistic form, we aim to reveal the hidden structures that go into analyzing the very fiber of our being.
During our visit to the IDM Flow Cytometry technology platform, we were inspired by the unseen systems that make this science possible: the lasers, the machinery, and the data that make the microscopic cells visible. With the contributions from the technology platform managers, Tim Reid and Rozanne Adams, we transformed e-waste from old flow cytometry machines, using the materials to explore the relationship between technology and life. Essentially, we are artistically representing cellular forms, using the technology and machinery used to analyze and visualize them.
We were particularly drawn to the motherboards, whose detailed visual language unexpectedly mirrors cellular structures. As these invisible infrastructures are essential to producing visibility of these cells, these components became central to our concept. By aestheticizing and representing them, we bring the hidden machinery of science into view, mimicking how flow cytometry reveals cells.
Light also plays an important role in our work. Just as flow cytometry uses lasers across the light spectrum to analyze cells, we use light to reveal layers of structure and color within the installation. The scatter graphs that record cell behavior further inspired the composition, guiding our use of color and form.
Through this work, we wish to do away with the boundary between what is seen and unseen, as we transform invisible data into a sensory and spatial experience that sparks wonder at a microscopic scale.
More here - Cells in Suspension webpage
For more information on the project, read here.