"Lifesaver" installation. Bacteria

Besides animals, plants and fungi, there are countless other life forms around us. Starting with bacteria, whose role in the metabolism of wildlife is of decisive importance, it can prove to be more dangerous than even the most vicious predators.

Plankton, consisting mainly of protozoa, is the food source of the oceans. Phytoplankton, which photosynthesises life force from solar radiation, is an important food for other sea creatures and keeps the communities living in all the world's oceans in circulation.

Archaea are microorganisms similar to bacteria, but they are not really bacteria. They are references to the primordial beginning of life, chemical converters invisible to the naked eye that play an important role in the cycle of life.

And finally, the infamous viruses, entities hovering on the edge of life, compounds of matter reduced to a formula, which die if left unchecked, but when attached to the right living entity, begin to reproduce and thereby can do a lot of harm to their hosts. Viruses are nature's textbook example of how the smallest living unit can critically affect the largest. All branches of the tree of life are interconnected, each small part counts and plays a significant role. And we as humans are part of it. We are not better or smarter, although we may think so. We are part of the whole.

 
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If you want to create your own genetic music, you can use the free software Sonic Pi and the available download code here. You can adjust various parameters and instruments to alter the sounds.

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The purpose of "Lifesaver" is to open an important field in modern science – genetics – in the symbiosis of art and science. By now, this branch of science has achieved great significance internationally, since it is connected to various fields of science and life, such as personal medicine, archaeology and mental health. In Estonia, the knowledge of genetics in society has increased thanks to the work of the University of Tartu's Estonian Biobank, which has been joined by one-fifth of the adult population of Estonia.

The artist of the 'Lifesaver' project is Valdek Laur, who works in the field of digital media and jewellery and metal art and is interested in scientific communication and the visualisation of complex concepts and data sets.

The „Lifesaver" installation is part of the project 'Toomemägi Revisited' within the main programme of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, bringing the historical heart of Tartu to life with the help of light, culture and science. The project is supported by SA Tartu 2024 and the Estonian Research Council.

More information: "Lifesaver" installation