Description
INVISIBLE MONSTER 02
“I’D COME HERE WITH ONE GOAL IN MIND: TO DISCOVER NEW THINGS. I’D HEARD ABOUT THIS EXHIBITION WHERE A TAXIDERMIST SPECIALIZING IN SINGLE-CELLED ORGANISMS CLAIMED TO HAVE MADE AN INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY: A NEW SPECIES OF AMOEBA. I’D ALREADY HEARD ABOUT AMOEBAS AND THEIR ROLE IN OUR ENVIRONMENT. I’D HEARD THEY WERE MICROSCOPIC, INVISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE, AND PRESENT EVERYWHERE. THEY CONTRIBUTED TO WHAT THEY CALLED THE NATURAL ECOSYSTEM, DEFINED AS A BALANCE THAT HAD FORMED WITHOUT HUMAN INTERVENTION. IN MY YOUTH, A BIOLOGY HISTORY TEACHER SPOKE OF AMOEBAE AND SINGLE- CELLED ORGANISMS AS INDISPENSABLE ELEMENTS OF OUR SOILS, REGULATING THE PROLIFERATION OF BACTERIA WHILE PROVIDING NUTRIENTS TO THE SO-CALLED WILD FLORA. TIMES HAVE CHANGED… ALL THAT’S LEFT ARE “CONTROLLED” BIOMES TO PRESERVE WHAT’S LEFT OF THEPAST. WITH THE IMPACT WE’VE HAD ON THE PLANET, AMOEBAS HAVE BECOME MUCH LARGER, AND SOME HAVE EVEN BECOME PREDATORS FOR OUR SPECIES. WHO COULD HAVE FORESEEN THIS… I ARRIVED IN FRONT OF THIS AMOEBA, DISPLAYED LIKE A MUSEUM PIECE. ACCORDING TO THE EXPLANATORY LABEL, IT WAS THE RESULT OF A SYMBIOSIS BETWEEN TWO TYPES OF UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS: THE AMOEBA NAEGLERIA FOWLERI, ALSO KNOWN AS THE “BRAIN- EATING AMOEBA”, AND EUGLYPHA ROTUNDA, WHICH HAS SCALES FORMED BY RECYCLING THE SILICA IT INGESTS. COULD THIS SPECIES POSE A THREAT TO US?”
MATERIALS
RYE STRAW, SOLID BRASS, UPCYCLED WOOD.
DIMENSIONS
L 24CM X W 8CM X H 35CM
Jonathän Jouan’s work transcends the physical realm, aspiring to evoke intangible and spiritual encounters. His artistic pieces deeply connected to mythological stories, drawing from the ancient tales that once stirred his childhood imagination. In the present, he creates custom pieces that tell personal stories, forging a connection between the object and its owner.
Through his reinterpretation of folklore, nostalgic recollections, and timeless narratives, Jouan offers a glimpse into a world where art serves as both a mirror and a window into the human experience – rooted in the past, grounded in the present, and reaching towards an unseen future.
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