Spectrospira

People: Andrea Polli and Fiona Bell

Year: 2024

Description: This collaborative artwork consists of a glass vessel blown by Andrea Polli that Fiona Bell transformed into a bioreactor to grow spirulina—a microscopic, multicellular, filamentous cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae. To maintain the health of the algae, the vessel is held up by a stand with a UV grow light positioned below it and an oxygenator fed into the top. The combination of traditional laboratory equipment and engineered materials like metal and glass paired with the organic form of the vessel and living spirulina encourages the blurring of boundaries between art|science, nature|culture, and human|nonhuman.

Outcomes: Hindsight Insight 5.0 Exhibition