“Exoskeleton:Topography of a second skin” by Anne-Marie Maes

Title:

Exoskeleton:Topography of a second skin

Artist(s) and People Involved:

Artist Statement:

Exhibition. Le Cube Garges, April 27 – May 18

2022
Installation, bacterial culture

The installation Exoskeleton Topography of a second skin presented by bioartist Anne Marie Maes invites us to take a fresh look at the microscopic and bacteriological world with which we sometimes unconsciously co-exist. On the central screen, the Non-human communica-tion video presents the communication modes of different bacterial communities. The photographs suspended on either side of the screen present the result of a scientific experiment called the “Winogradski column”.Soil samples were grown for several weeks. Over time, the present bacterial communities have evolved in responses to different environmental elements such as oxygen, light and temperature. The photographs presented constitute a kind of abstract portraits of the region where the soil samples were taken and represent the detailed complexity of the local environment, its genetic, bacterial and geological profile.In the central aquarium, a Sensory Skin is growing. It is a membrane developed by a symbiotic organism composed of bacteria and yeast cells during the fermentation process of black tea and sugar.Interface between the interior and the exterior, between humans and plants, these second skins invite us to rethink the way in which we collaborate with the bacteriological world.