This research focuses on two specific areas of Bioluminescent Algae. The first one will be on how to grow them and to take care of them in the best way possible. The second field of interest is in the way they glow; which ways work best for making them illuminate? What are their limits: How long can they glow? How many times?
As an artist working on a biomedia project about multi species communication, this research aims expending the knowledge of my medium, as well as giving me the boundaries within which this artwork can be exhibited.
Bioluminescent Algae - by Frédéric Blais-Bélanger
Pyrocystis fusiformis
Pyrocystis fusiformis is a Bioluminescent Dinoflagellate specie that grows up to 1mm. It is commonly found on surface layers of warm temperate and tropical seawaters. When disturbance in water, they emit blue light as a defense mechanism to avoid being eaten. This theory, called The Burglar Alarm, was developed and experimented by Fleisher and Case in 1995. The sudden flashes of light catches the attention of higher predators of the Dinoflagellate's predator.
Pyrocystis fusiformis under the microscope - by Frédéric Blais-Bélanger
Making it glow
Pyrocystis Fusiformis can easily glow. A small disturbance in the water will make it happen. For the purpose of my project, I wanted to find a gentle way to make them glow, with the most amount of light emission.
- Manual Shaking
Manual shaking is of course the easiest one to see the effect as it needs no instruments. It is also the one you will use to see if the they are alive and in good shape. From an aesthetic point of view, it is also an interesting one as you can see precisely each individual organism. You are also more in control of the amount of disturbance you generate.
The downside of it is more on a presentation and ethical way. For the purpose of my work it was not possible since I needed the flask to stand still. Also, I find it un-ethical to let people shake them, which could be an aggressive gesture, for their own entertainment. For an art installation, it has too much connotation of power-relation between both organisms.
- Electromagnetic Stirrer
The electromagnetic stirrer was definitely not my favorite even though it works well. It creates this cyclone which could be highly aesthetic, but at the same time it creates a uniformity in the water. The water becomes blue-cyan and you don't really see all the small dots that for me is much more interesting. It fades out too much the organism by giving more importance to the water that looks like it is glowing.
If you still use it, be careful on the power you use as the Pyrocystis get exhausted quite fast with this technique. It was also another reason for not using it for my installation.
- Air Pump
The air pump was for me the most interesting and conclusive one. The amount of light is quite high and the individual organisms are still very visible. Moreover the amount of bubbles can be adjusted by the voltage of the pump, and the stone that is used at the end of the tube. It has an nice aesthetic but most importantly, I believe it to be the most ethical one of these choices. It is definitely less violent than the other ones. Actually, air streams are common in their natural habitat and air is something they need to stay alive. It has also a conceptual meaning as the algae filter air and produce oxygen the same way trees do.
For the installation, I used a 12V pump, but any aquarium pump could definitely do the job.
- Sub-woofer
Using a sub-woofer to send vibrations to Pyrocystis Fusiformis is also a good way to make them glow... if you do it properly. This technique needs a little bit more preparation. I though of using it at some point, but since the medium needs to be directly on the speaker, this technique could not work for my installation. I tried to put the flask on the woofer, but the glass cuts the vibration too much. Also, this technique has downsides which are the contamination of the organism as they are put straight on a sub-woofer, but also the manipulation of it as they will need to be put back and forth from the speaker to the flask for maintenance and care purposes.
Andreas Greiner uses this technique in is work The Molecular Ordering of Computational_plants (photos below). If you want to use this technique, make sure to make the speaker water-proof. You can find tutorials, like this one, on Internet that explain how to do it properly.
Photos of Andreas Greiner's work on his website. Photo by Nathalie Zimmermann (left) and Jens Ziehe (right).
Note: As our bared eyes can see the glowing perfectly, taking a photo of it more complicated as it needs a long exposure. To make a video of it is even more difficult.
Project
As part of my Projektmodul Art and Biomedia: agencies of being, I am working on creating a platform where the viewer can perform a social interaction with a different specie by the forms of sound and dance.
Link to full project: GMU:Art and Biomedia/Frederic Blais-Belanger