Biofilms
Content:
Introduction and illustrations
During my PhD studies, I meet awesome colleagues and inspiring friends. Among them, I meet Inga Kirstein who was working to elucidate the relationship of microorganisms on microplastics. I admire her as a person and also as a scientist, always with novel ideas and developing high quality research!
During her thesis, she was collaborating with Prof. Dr. Georg Krohne to analyze her samples with electron microscopy. These samples were biofilms* from microplastics that were incubated in seawater. Once she showed me these pictures… and I was in love of these microbes! the high quality pictures were an artistic inspiration for me. Thanks Inguita to let me paint your awesome samples!
The original illustrations are in A6 format, I used ink with nibs and brushes.
The pictures I used as references are part of Inga’s PhD thesis, which related-research you can find in the publications The Plastisphere – Uncovering tightly attached plastic “specific” microorganisms and Mature biofilm communities on synthetic polymers in seawater – Specific or general?.
There are several illustrations, but here are some exemplary work:
*a layer of microorganisms that grow on a certain surface, like a whole metropolis!
Fanzines
These illustrations were inspiration for two zines about microbial metaphors, essays of diversity of community and how, together, we can inhabit this complex world.
These zines were printed as zine object, with screenprint and hand sew booklet A6 format. To increase its access, there is a ink printed A7 version.
(Co)exist
Thoughs about living alone and coexist together in our diversity. Essay excerpt:
“This microbe
is a single organism,
able to live by its own.
This minuscule life form
is solely existing
in the huge and dark ocean.
But…
in reality,
no one lives completely alone,
or solely on its own.
To resist in the environment,
we connect and collaborate
in a community”.
Reconnect, resilience
Thoughs about living in adversity and feeling hopeless, but together we can resist. Essay excerpt:
“In general,
mass can neither created
nor destroyed,
it is only transformed…
Or rather,
it fragments.
Small pieces, invisible,
microplastics all over the ocean.
The environment changes,
and in this polluted place,
we felt its hopeless,
hostile, harsh
…
we resist”.
In my to do list, is a video to talk with researchers about biofilms and marine microplastic, so please be patient <3
Also, Inga Kirstein wrote one of the Mic Robio Stories. You can check more about this project in this link.
How to get my Zines?
My zines are available to get by donation at Garabatos Atelier. For more information check and follow our instagram account, or visit us in our opening times.
Also, if you are interested to create together about your research, you can find more information about in the Outreach section of services.
