Art by Sonja Bäumel

bacteria from human skin to make a cartography of the human body with bacteria cultures




"This project deals with the skin bacteria on a human body and the bacteria absorbed on November 11, 2010 in a specific area of Vienna. Sonja Bäumel and Erich Schopf develop and speak a language between art and science and thereby create a chemically living full-body image.

The conceptual journey including many experiments on Sonja Bäumel’s body. The natural layer of bacteria on the protagonist’s skin was removed and then with an especially developed technique replaced by an artificial layer of bacteria.

To produce such a piece of art on a scale of 1:1 requires scientific and technological input of an extremely high level and can be considered an innovative, courageous challenge. The different morphologies, colours and quantities of bacteria on different body areas were examined, analysed, counted and documented. The bacteria were bred, partially reanimated and kept alive at -70 °C. In the framework of an interaction study, experiments were made to study the bacteria’s hierarchies. Weak bacteria were applied first to guarantee their unhindered growth and to achieve the desired colours on the bacteria image. After applying the invisible bacterial colour on the body, a body print was made on a textile material which had been provided with nutrients. As soon as the bacteria visibly grew, their growth was stopped and the actual state was documented with a body print.

Every visible point on the bacteria image has special significance and represents a thought process or experiment. Sonja Bäumel and Erich Schopf create an art image of a real invisible moment."