MR MOL, 2023
steel, glass, mirror glass, tubes, pumps, stirrer, measurement and control technology, bacteria (including Cupriavidus necator), 350 x 160 x 130 cm
exhibition view WHOLE DEARTH CATALOG & GOOD ROTTEN GOODS, gallery Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman, Vienna 2023
In the bioreactor sculptures MS MOL and MR MOL, bacteria (including Cupriavidus necator) convert the fatty acids derived from algae into the bioplastic PHB (polyhydroxybutyrate). The cultivation process takes place in two stages: in MS MOL, the bacterial cells reproduce by metabolising the fatty acids in the presence of nitrogen; in MR MOL, the bacteria convert the fatty acids into PHB for energy storage in the absence of nitrogen.
Together, MS MOL and MR MOL visually depict the structure of a PHB molecule, reminiscent of an abstracted Mickey Mouse. While Disney’s Mickey Mouse accompanied the rise of the oil and plastics industries from 1928 onwards, MS MOL and MR MOL mark the transition from petrochemistry to biochemistry.
steel, glass, mirror glass, tubes, pumps, stirrer, measurement and control technology, bacteria (including Cupriavidus necator), 350 x 160 x 130 cm
exhibition view WHOLE DEARTH CATALOG & GOOD ROTTEN GOODS, gallery Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman, Vienna 2023
In the bioreactor sculptures MS MOL and MR MOL, bacteria (including Cupriavidus necator) convert the fatty acids derived from algae into the bioplastic PHB (polyhydroxybutyrate). The cultivation process takes place in two stages: in MS MOL, the bacterial cells reproduce by metabolising the fatty acids in the presence of nitrogen; in MR MOL, the bacteria convert the fatty acids into PHB for energy storage in the absence of nitrogen.
Together, MS MOL and MR MOL visually depict the structure of a PHB molecule, reminiscent of an abstracted Mickey Mouse. While Disney’s Mickey Mouse accompanied the rise of the oil and plastics industries from 1928 onwards, MS MOL and MR MOL mark the transition from petrochemistry to biochemistry.