ARTWORK
Biolumen is a collaborative artwork combining the talents of Toronto artist Radha Chaddah and Toronto firm RAW Design, with musical accompaniment by Jaclyn Blumas.
Biolumen is composed of 10 interactive sculptures inspired by radiolarians, microscopic bioluminescent organisms that inhabit the ocean floor, that together create a visual, luminous and sonic experience.
At the crossroads of art, science and nature, Biolumen embodies the resilience and beauty of nature, even in difficult environments. The visual and sonic harmonies created by audience interaction are a tribute to symbiosis and the ideal of man learning to live in balance with nature.
The artist
Radha Chaddah is a visual artist and scientist based in Toronto.
Dividing her time between the laboratory and the studio, she enjoys immersing herself in the beauty of the microscopic world through her microscope and then introducing it to the macroscopic world through her art, using photography, large-scale light projections and art installations.
RAW is a Toronto-based architecture and design studio working on a wide variety of scales and project types.
From community greenhouses, to large-scale residential developments, to the design of outdoor interactive installations, its team of 60 architects and designers is committed to a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach that brings creative answers to any design problem.
creative intentions
Biolumen was inspired by radiolarians, microscopic bioluminescent (that can generate light naturally) single-celled animals whose name means "little ray", referring to their radial symmetry, i.e. their shape with repeating parts around a center.
The ocean floor is covered with their astonishingly beautiful skeletons, made of silica.
Radiolarians generate light through a natural chemical reaction that enables them to communicate, reproduce, defend themselves and catch their prey.
These microorganisms, members of the plankton family, live in symbiosis with algae, feeding on sugars that the latter produce from sunlight through photosynthesis. In choosing such a complex and little-known concept, Radha Chaddah sought to arouse the public's curiosity and bring its gaze to the realm of science.
By inverting the scale from microscopic to macroscopic, Chaddah forces us to rethink our place in the world and invites us to become more contemplative, conscientious and benevolent towards nature.
Biolumen is an opportunity to remind ourselves that everything is interconnected, and that we humans cannot separate ourselves from this natural fabric, but, above all, have our part to play in preserving it.
Artistic approach
Radha Chaddah’s artistic approach draws from her surprising dual background in film and art history from a BA at Queen's University, as well as in human biology, from an MA in cellular and molecular neurobiology at the University of Toronto.
Radha Chaddah explains that at the cutting edge of science, there are discoveries, inspiration but above all, far more questions than answers: "I create my art because I wish to explore the beauty and complexity of the invisible world using the power of discovery and scientific methodology."
Her desire to merge art and science stems from her belief that "the fusion of disciplines is the engine of our transformation. Chaddah elaborates: "regenerative medicine, bioengineering, nanotechnology and robotics are paving the way for a new era as they converge. We are part of nature, as are our creations."
Her artistic approach thus relies on the use of scientific research equipment to prepare, explore and image fragments of nature such as cells, bacteria, plants and insects. Amongst different tools, she uses the scanning electron microscope
and the fluorescence microscope to create high-resolution and/or 3D images of biological samples.
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