protocells – Artificial Intelligence https://ars.electronica.art/ai/en Ars Electronica Festival 2017 Tue, 28 Jun 2022 13:43:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.6 Hybrid Art – Luminiferous Drift https://ars.electronica.art/ai/en/hybrid-art-luminiferous-drift/ Tue, 08 Aug 2017 09:07:22 +0000 https://ars.electronica.art/ai/?p=3208

Evelina Domnitch (BY), Dmitry Gelfand (US)

The live installation Luminiferous Drift simulates the view from outer space of a hypothetical planet and ist weather phenomena. The experimental arrangement uses macroscopic protocells* to physically simulate the movements of phytoplankton in a biosphere.

The occurrence of phytoplankton was a crucial phase in the development of cellular life on earth. Through photosynthesis this “eco-synthesizer” not only transforms carbon dioxide into organic matter – the basis of our food – but also additionally produces more than half the oxygen in the atmosphere of the earth. During the night its remaining energy is radiated as bioluminescence – a phenomenon that is still puzzling today.

In the setting of Luminiferous Drift double emulsion photocells are released into a rotating bath of water. The energy generated by the movement is released in a chemical reaction and given off in the form of light.

* The first living cells capable of self-multiplication.

Credits

portablepalace.com/luminiferous.html
in association with Jean-Marc Chomaz

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