LIVING IMAGES: YEAST-O-GRAMS

By Johanna Rotko (FI)

Images created from diverse yeast growing on petri dishes.

In Living images, the artist cultivates yeast on growth mediums to create images. The process brings photographs to life as images are exposed onto cultivated yeast with Ultraviolet LED lamps. The UV-lights kill/injure part of the yeast cells during the 48-hour exposure process. The picture is formed when the yeast cells sheltered by the black parts of the raster images survive and the other cells are killed or damaged by the UV-light. Through her artistic research process, the artist studies the images by photographing them for different lengths of time, exploring the world by artistic means with methods from the biosciences.

EXHIBITOR BIOGRAPHY

Johanna Rotko connected with bioart while studying biological arts as part of an MA from Aalto University. This culminated in her thesis Yeastograms (2014-2015). She learned the technique from Pavillon_35 art group in 2013 in a workshop that was held with the Finnish Bioart Society. Since then she has been working with yeast images.

Rotko’s experimental artistic research is based on the study of her own relationship with nature by exposing yeast images and photographing them different lengths of time. The research has confirmed her biocentric worldview relationship with nature, one that does not place people above nature. Humans have an obligation to protect and respect the ecosystems, as well as to take into account the other species. Even the smallest creatures.

LINKS

Website: johannarotko.com

Website: hiivagrammi.fi

Website: www.yeastring.com

Instagram: @yeastograms

Video: vimeo.com/user11582374