Micro-Residence Quarantine is the first reality show for bacteria! It is a science art installation which allows participants to observe and compare the life of two different samples of harmless infectious agents (normal bacteria found on the hands of Adèle Tilouine & Tyler Kaufman) evolving in three different confined ecosystems in which they can survive.

 

Combined with the physical  installation, an art video presents the first microscopic “reality TV” show of two bacteria teams living their life and competing in “The Micro Residence Quarantine”. TakT’s science art video was created by using various microscopes under the supervision of scientists at the TIS Bio lab at the University of Lille, France, where they stayed for a science art residency. The sound landscape of the video also incorporates over 75 different sounds emitted by the TISBio scientific equipment that TakT recorded while making the show.

 

In the show’s first episode, both agents go through three rounds (speed, resistance and confrontation) to see which bacteria can best adapt and succeed in the hostile environment. The installation itself lights up and changes color in sync with the episode.

 

The infectious agents who are confined inside of TakT’s installation allow the audience the ability to see how they live and adapt to their quarantine life on screen. This science art video aims to transposes the sociological concerns of the observation of confined and isolated people to infectious agents quarantined.

 

Conceived by TakT in Paris, during the French quarantine, Micro-Residence Quarantine uses science, art and even comedy to serve as both a remembrance and personal reflection of life in quarantine. This science art installation explores the isolation, fragility and response of the world to the 2020 pandemic and reflect on the new “Technopological” age of the 21st century without taking itself seriously. It is also an invitation to give visibility to the microscopic forms of life that we don’t tend to acknowledge despite their direct impact on our lives.

 

For the first time in human history, people around the world are constantly online, uploading their own lives as reality TV and trying to connect with as many strangers as possible. Micro-Residence Quarantine is a transposition of the invisible microscopic world to the worldwide phenomenon of Social Media and reality TV. It combines artistic imagination, sociological and psychological experimentation and mixes scientific experiments with artistic expression.

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Micro-Residence Quarantine is an imaginary form of sociological and psychological experimentation which mixes natural sciences and artistic expressions. In Reality TV, one can observe the sociological and psychological composition of the modern culture. They reflect social norms and ideologies through the structure of a group evolving under constraints. These shows also push the boundaries of what’s morally justified which tends to be the underlying basis of either the plot, conflict or results of the show.

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This science art project is a transposition of such a codified system to the microscopic world. By showing different patterns of social behaviors and their psychological effects on the individuals and the group: coalition, support, exclusion, assistance, treason, competition, fighting, mating, etc. we aim to forge a fake sociology of infectious agents through a reality TV show. In Reality TV, there is an inherent basis of competition and the constant questioning and pushing of moral boundaries to achieve the goal of “winning”. The different behavioral results of the infectious agents experiencing quarantine highlight the conditioning we as people have not only from quarantine but from making our own lives a personal reality TV show for others to watch.

 

Forced confinement is a physical and psychological burden that has been shared by countless of individuals across the world. It will leave its trace in people’s memory all around the globe and could potentially reshape the future of mankind. In the book; 1984, Orwell shows not only the mental toll it can have but how it can break down the fabric of an entire society. By reversing the perspectives from subject to observer, the audience can help process the psychological toll of the pandemic and the ensuing isolationism. By using a scientific lens, Micro-Residence Quarantine attempts to bring to light a pondering and reflection of isolationism in a manner that is positive and potentially healing.

 

Artificial Intelligence

The imagery and the audio both use the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). For the visuals, the help of AI was used to track and help separate the different bacteria. In audio, AI was used in frequency manipulation in mastering the track.

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See the trailer of the reality show below :

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