The science art installation MICRO-RESIDENCE QUARANTINE is an installation which include the first microscopic reality TV show. This installation is a sociological and psychological art piece that invites its’ audience to renew its experience of quarantine through the perspective of an observer looking in.
With MICRO-RESIDENCE QUARANTINE, participants get to observe and compare the life of two different samples of harmless infectious bacteria (chosen with the help of the scientists of TisBIO Laboratory) go into competition against each other through three stages. The specialized eco systems in which the microscopic bacteria were filmed in allows the audience to see how the microscopic creatures, divided into two teams, evolve and react differently during their confinement.
With the installation, a screen or video projection will present episode 1 of MICRO-RESIDENCE QUARANTINE. The installation includes a custom-made Arduino system which allows the petri dishes inside the installation to light up in different colors in sync with the video presented. The experience is also accompanied by a sound landscape composed by TakT. The percussion and many of the sound fx used was recorded at the TISBIO Science Labs at Lille University, France using lab equipment which TakT proceeded to sample, manipulate, record and compose with while making episode 1.
The art video mimes the aesthetic and design of a reality show, transposing the sociological concerns of the observation of confined and isolated people to bacteria quarantined.
Conceived by TakT in Paris, during the French quarantine (beginning on March 17th 2020), MICRO- RESIDENCE QUARANTINE is both a remembrance and a reflective healing art piece. The act of re-creating the quarantine situation by changing the point of view and balance of power can renew the perception of this anxiogenic period and put it in perspective.
This installation is also an invitation to give visibility to the microscopic forms of life that we don’t tend to acknowledge despite their direct impact on our lives. MICRO-RESIDENCE QUARANTINE explores the previous worldwide pandemic and reflects the new “Technopological” age of the 21st century. It is the first time in human history where people around the world are constantly online, uploading their own lives as a reality TV show and trying to connect with as many strangers as possible. The show uses that world wide phenomenon through the surrealist lens of bacteria.
SCIENTIFIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL INTEREST
This interdisciplinary science-art project is an experiment, one which mixes biology, natural sciences, microscopic technology and artistic expression.
In reality TV, one can observe the sociological and psychological composition of the modern culture. They reflect social norms and ideologies through the structure of a group evolving under constraints. These shows also push the boundary of what’s morally justified which tends to be the underlying basis of either the plot, conflict or climax of the show.
This science art project is a transposition of such a codified system to the microscopic world. By showing different patterns of social behaviors and their psychological effects on the individuals and the group: coalition, support, exclusion, assistance, treason, competition, fighting, mating, etc. we aim to forge a fake sociology of infectious agents through our reality TV show.
The humanization of the bacteria comes from the fake reality show which ascribes motives to their actions. In Reality TV, there is an inherent basis of competition and the constant questioning and pushing of moral boundaries to achieve the goal of “winning”. The different behavioral results of the infectious agents experiencing quarantine highlight the gap between the confined life conditions of people.
Forced confinement is a physical and psychological burden that was shared by countless individuals across the world. It will leave its trace in people’s memory all around the globe. By reversing the perspectives from subject to observer, the audience can help process the emotional wear and tear of the previous pandemic.
The psychological toll of isolationism is one of great power, it is even considered a form of torture. In the book 1984, Orwell shows not only the mental toll it can have but also how it can break down the fabric of entire societies. Through a scientific lens, MICRO-RESIDENCE QUARANTINE attempts to bring to light a pondering and reflection of isolationism in a manner that is positive and potentially healing.
THE SCIENCE ART REALITY SHOW
Episode 1 of MICRO-RESIDENCE QUARANTINE will be displayed on a big screen next to the structure. It is an artistic montage of real microscopic videos done by TakT during an art residency at TisBIO Laboratory in Lille, France.
The faux science art reality show looks at the life of these isolated participants confined in the close space of the microscopic world and has them compete through three stages. It also artistically reimagines and recreates affectations of the bacteria by paying homage to various structures of traditional mainstream reality TV through the prism of TakT’s own artistic expression.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The imagery and the audio both use the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). For the visuals, the help of AI was used to track and help separate the different bacteria. In audio, AI was used in frequency manipulation in mastering the track.
Interactivity
After presenting this installation in many locations, TakT also recommends having a voting system (which TakT can help implement) so that the audience can vote for which team they would like to win before Round 1 begins. This allows the audience to become more emotionally involved.
