The sheer number of ecstatic tardigrades / The moss stretched out like a satisfied cat
YEAR: 2022
MEDIUM: Video diptych
FUNDING: KOP Breda, Stedelijk Museum Breda
Films that reveal the vegetal and animal life living on the surface of my moon sculpture, The Lunar Moss Piglets in the Sea of Serenity.
As my moon sculpture was made with the intention of creating an optimal home for tardigrades, I wanted to ensure that there were indeed some living there. I carefully lifted a small sample of the moss to study under a microscope. The recorded footage reveals the beautiful world of the mosses, tardigrades and other microscopic creatures such as rotifers living beyond the perception of the naked human eye. The moss and its inhabitants were returned to the moon sculpture afterwards.
The videos were used as part of a performative reading of In the beginning…at Stedelijk Museum Breda, and their durations match the length of time it takes to read the chapters ‘The Moss’ and ‘The Tardigrades’ from the book.
Credits
Sound design by: Alex Wight.
Commissioned by: KOP and Stedelijk Museum Breda for ‘Ontdek de Nacht’. Filmed at: Institute of Biology, Leiden University with instruction from Gerda Lamers.
The microscope used to film the videos at the Institute of Biology, Leiden University.
Stills from video diptych The sheer number of ecstatic tardigrades / The moss stretched out like a satisfied cat.
The videos projected during a performative reading of In the beginning...at Stedelijk Museum Breda. Photograph by Joost van der Velden.
The moment I found my the first tardigrade whilst filming.
