BIOLUMINESCENT WATERFALL

Spring 2016 LA438: Local Energy and New Landscapes, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

Project Location: Urbana, IL, USA

This project forms a private, intimate encounter that reshapes our notion of the garden.

Bioluminescent Waterfall relies heavily on the process of dynamic systems, relationships and life cycles. Upon harvesting bioluminescent Photobacterium Phosphoreum from the Department of Microbiology, various experiments were conducted on a nightly basis to culture the bacteria, enabling A discovery of opportunities that prioritize an experience-based understanding of the bacteria and its conditions through the flows of energy being triggered. This project was developed and realized at full scale with authentic materiality in real space-time. The final outcome was shown at the 2016 Boneyard Arts Festival in Urbana, with participants pouring set amounts of bioluminescent bacteria into a transparent, cubiform cascade, resulting in bacteria binding together to form unexpected patterns in the ensuing pond.