News

Robertina Šebjanič and Aleš Hieng–Zergon's Work on NASA Astrobiology Institute Website
24.02.2016 15:10

Robertina Šebjanič and Aleš Hieng – Zergon:
Time Displacement / Chemobrionic Garden
Durational performance | sound installation | open laboratory | Video

Chemical garden systems, generated by the chimney-shaped structures of ocean hydrothermal vents, have been of astrobiological interest to scientists in the NAI team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for some time. The possible link between these vents to the creation of energy and the beginnings of life on early Earth, first presented by Mike Russell in 1989, was recently reflected upon in an essay by Tim Requarth, published in Aeon.

http://nai.nasa.gov/articles/2016/2/5/from-chemical-gardens-to-life-and-art/

In December 2015, the potential of these vents also became the subject of an art installation at the Aksioma Project Space in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Time Displacement is a durational performance which uses chemical gardens as stained glass pictures to explore the optics that change the cultural perception of the world and the practice of differentiating between organic and inorganic matter. This changed perception of matter is made possible by means of interdisciplinary research, which contributes to a more holistic understanding of (geological, chemical, social, political) processes in the world. Although not a new exploration, chemical gardens are only now emerging as an unexpected research area and a prime example in chemistry of self-organising non-equilibrium processes that create complex structures, combining chemistry, fluid dynamics, and materials science. If research in the field of chemobrionics is legitimated by the development of new materials for commercial purposes, Time Displacement encourages such study of materials, which maintains a fascination with the potential development of nanomaterials without any commercial implications.

More about project on Website: http://robertina.net/time-displacement-chemobrionic-garden/

<- Back to: MMC Kibla