Atlas of Contemporary Networks - Microorganism
Once one gets to think about the theme of microorganism networks, suddenly a certain feel of disorientation and uncertainty suddenly arises. We live in a world where we are part of the microbial network, crossing our paths with an infinite number of different organisms, interacting with what is probably the most massive and complex network exhisting and, most importantly, living.
The aim of these spreads is to show what is for humans impossible to see and to make apparent the invisible interconnection that links the smallest organism to the infinite universe: an interconnection that is so deep and complex, while at the same time so simple and fragile.
The first challenge has been to sum up the massive amount of data to make it suitable for a sequential book fruition. This has been achieved by dividing the topics into seven spreads following the increase of the complexity of the interactions and the extension of the physical space involved.
Following this logic, the first spread refers to the single organism, the second to the colonies and the interaction between organisms and the third to how the organisms are able to spread in the environment; the fourth is about the human biome while the fifth deals with spreading processes by human interaction; the sixth refers to global human spreading and pandemics, while the seventh and last is about space and the microbial life outside our planet.
Even though each spread can be read separately, one of the aims was to show the flow and the interconnection on every level of the narration. This has been achieved by drawing a green line as a symbol for the microorganisms that originates in the first spread and slowly makes its way through the other spreads showing the connections between the various organisms, animals, people, environments and planets.
Final Exhibition: Printed Atlas and The Edge of Life - interactive project demo developed using Processing
