MOTHER
2024UNMUTE Residency by Värmeverket
MOTHER - is a project that highlights the symbiotic relationship between humans and microorganisms. What started as self-initiated research—driven by my fascination with living organisms and my personal journey with gut disorders—evolved into a collaborative exhibition with Alexandra Moreno & Marta Veiga during a residency at Värmeverket. We explored the different aspects of our connection to microbes—those living on, around, and inside us in a
site-specific immersive exhibition designed for the Underverket Festival.
Visitors scanned a QR code to hear “Mother” guide them through the artworks. “Mother” first invited them to participate in an ingestion ritual designed by Moa Marklund, marking the beginning of a journey into the gut.
The title of the exhibition refers to the reproductive qualities of the layer of microorganisms formed during certain fermentation processes and evokes the nurturing qualities often attributed to all “mothers.” Fermentation is a process created by and for microorganisms, offering us a way to observe them with the naked eye.
My personal focus was on the microorganisms in our gut, where the largest population resides.
These microbes are crucial for digestion and also influence our behavior and mood. I explored fermentation and its byproducts, creating handmade glass vessels to grow the “mothers” of fermented tea—smiley, gelatinous films of living colonies of yeast, lactic, and acetic acid bacteria. These are the same types of bacteria that live in our gut, making it evident the connection between fermented foods and a happy gut. What we eat directly impacts the well-being of these microbes, and in turn, our own well-being. Since 95% of our serotonin (the “happiness chemical”) is produced in the gut,
feeding our microbes is essentially feeding our happiness! I also created a video that explored the
visual similarities between fermented tea byproducts and the human gut.
My work counted on the invaluable collaboration of Robert Jan Brummer, a leading researcher at the Nutrition-Gut-Brain Interactions Research Centre (NGBI), and Tiffany Abitbol, a specialist in nanocellulose and bio-based materials, whose expertise greatly enriched this project.
by vvaselek, nad.jja and enk.elias, and some by myself.
MOTHER is an immersive, multisensorial exhibition that delves into the world of microorganisms, exploring themes such as care, interdependence, and multispecies relationships. The aim for this project is to offer new
perspectives concerning the human body and to unmute the invisible, yet crucial, microbes and processes happening around, and inside of, us. The exhibition is meant to encourage visitors to rethink their relationship with microorganisms, challenging the hygiene-obsessed mindset that views them as enemies. It’s designed to evoke a wide range of emotion – from disgust to appreciation – and to provoke reflections on how we exist in a world where we depend on others.
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