Growing the Medium
Culturing the swarm
Everything starts with the culture. The bacteria are grown and concentrated until there are enough of them — some eight billion — to read as a single moving surface. It is slow, careful work: a living material that has to be coaxed rather than manufactured.
Reading the Field
Microscopy & magnetics
Under the microscope the swarm is checked for health and movement. Magnetotactic bacteria align to a magnetic field, and the strength and uniformity of that response decides whether the display will hold a clear image.
Building the Display
Vessel, optics & coils
Alongside the biology, the apparatus takes shape — the vessel that holds the culture, the optics that render it, and the coils that steer the field. Each part is fitted and tested against the living medium it has to serve.
Toward Age of Wonder
Readying the work
With the culture prepared and the display assembled, the piece is made ready to leave the lab for Age of Wonder — a living artwork packed, for a moment, into transportable form.
