Unseen Cultures
A monograph dedicated to investigation into the strange and beautiful world of microbes.
Modern science is more familiar with bacteria than ever before, but most of us still see microbial life as a mystery, and we’re still far from accepting these cohabiters as beneficial to us.
Despite their size, bacteria play a larger role in our bodies than previously thought. With our growing knowledge of the human microbiome, the implications of a positive relationship with the bacteria could be hugely advantageous.
Despite their size, bacteria play a larger role in our bodies than previously thought. With our growing knowledge of the human microbiome, the implications of a positive relationship with the bacteria could be hugely advantageous.
By exploring, amplifying, and dissecting the nature of ‘ugly’ and ‘gross’, I aimed to shed light on the real benefit and potential of microbes—shifting our perception from distrust to fascination.
Unseen Cultures was kickstarted by the desire to investigate others’ perception of the bacteria around us, and by creating an experiment kit I was able to conduct research on the matter. Each kit contained a few simple activities, inviting the participants to conduct thought-provoking and fun experiments that aimed to have them explore their relationship with the invisible bacterial world.
The results from this kit were collected and synthesized into Bacteria Obscura.
The results from this kit were collected and synthesized into Bacteria Obscura.