Günes Isitan / artist-researcher in biomedia arts

Microbiota's Song: The Poetry of a Tongue is a fusion of microbiology, photography, video and reactive sounds; it is part of my on-going journey to engage with non-human perspectives.

 

The series uses a generative sound program controlled by the development, in a Petri dish, of microorganisms usually found living in symbiosis with humans. The experiment, captured visually, is then processed into a soundscape: the tempo varies in accordance with the speed of the growths, and the various sounds are activated from the colours revealed by them.

 

By creating this "musical instrument" for the microbiota to "play" with, I attempt to let microorganisms "express" themselves, in a manner and timeframe perceivable to humans, though their collective agency.

 

This piece, The Poetry of a Tongue, was cultivated from the microbiota of a human tongue. It is made from an HD video (time-lapse), compressing 180 hours of growth into this 3 ½ minutes of experimental film and soundscape.