Algo-rhythms of Loving Grace
A.L.G. is an interactive digital installation inspired by artist Lia Giraud‘s algaegraphic process. Using light and biological variables, children interact with a culture of microalgae in order to generate an unstable and fleeting collective image.
Algaegraphy is a living photographic technique, it uses microscopic algae that are sensitive to light. When exposed, they react like photographic paper and create an organic image by moving and multiplying.
This collaboration began on the occasion of the 2019 Fête du Code Créatif (Creative Code Festival) at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. This event allows children age 2 and older to discover programming and some principles of code without necessarily knowing how to code or even write. The 2019 edition was taking place during the exhibition « Designing the Living », and therefore offered related workshops.
A.L.G. simulates an artificial photosensitive Euglena Gracilis culture. Workstations are linked together so that every individual action affects a vast wall projection. Each station offers specific tools for all ages, to light up and to observe the microalgae at a microscopic scale, and thus to draw together in a collaborative way. Information windows make it possible to learn more about microalgae and programming.
The title is a reference to Richard Brautignan’s poem « All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace » (1967).
