Quick Sample (video)

2023

Video recording capturing the microscopic examination of puddle samples. In these samples, we observe a substantial amount of dead plant matter, which serves as an “edible urban tissue” for single-celled organisms. We see many small, transparent ciliates with their characteristic crown of cilia, known as the oral apparatus from which they derive their name. They are incredibly swift, and I must chase them with the microscope objective. They feed on dead organic matter, bacteria, algae, and protozoans. In Poland alone, there are as many as 554 species of ciliates. At one point, a black circle resembling a gasket appears–it is an air bubble.

Shortly thereafter, a tiny, agile crustacean–a copepod–makes an appearance. Its shell is completely covered with a bivalve armour saturated with calcium salts, somewhat resembling a mussel shell. The video is accompanied by metalwork objects. Their shapes are inspired by detritus seen under the microscope, which is finely fragmented, dead organic matter, remnants of plants and animals.