Unicellular Impressions

This piece aims to capture generated impressions of diatoms, the microscopic algae that inhabit a large portion of our seas, whose anatomies are characteristically enclosed in a shell of silica, their shapes formed as various symmetries. The rapid, shifting quality of the work reflects the pace of microscopic life, which often appears sped up to our eyes.

A system of neural networks was used to generate images that capture the diversity of their shapes, not through direct observation, but through the distillation of historical archives of their early depictions. The resulting video consists of 242 frames, which were handprinted using the cyanotype technique and later digitized. ‘Unicellular Impressions’ is part of a series of works inspired by Anna Atkins and her book 'Photographs of British Algae’, from 1843.

{Full resolution piece 2048 × 2048px 443,8 MB}