The soil beneath our crops, beneath our forests, in our gardens, in parks, everywhere, is alive. It is filled with bacteria and fungi, among other things, which communicate with each other and with plant roots by producing and sending small molecules, also known as signalling substances. They have their own community, which we are not normally part of because it is invisible to the naked eye.
But at Viborg Gymnasium, it is now possible to experience it on a scale where you can clearly see every inhabitant of this complex underground community.
The artwork Levende jord by visual artist Amalie Smith consists of a large terrazzo floor measuring 252 square metres with inlaid terracotta elements that depicts bacteria, molecules, and the plant roots they live among on a scale of 1:10,000.
Professor Lone Gram from DTU Bioengineering and her colleagues from the basic research centre CeMiSt (Centre for Microbial Secondary Metabolites) have contributed to the work by sharing their expertise on bacteria and their secondary metabolites (the molecules that bacteria use to communicate, among other things) with Amalie Smith, and the professor has gained a deeper understanding of her own research, art, and communication along the way.
"My conversations with Amalie Smith have made me realise that the work processes of researchers and artists are very similar. From the outside, it may seem confusing when you collect data at the beginning of a research project in the same way that an artist collects inspiration, but slowly it starts to make sense, the project takes shape and direction, and you can put into words what you are looking for," she explains and continues:
"It has been rewarding to see how natural science can be communicated in a way that is both incredibly beautiful and created by an artist who is genuinely interested in and understands natural sciences, because that is what Amalie Smith does."
