3607 — Bacterial Soundscape

Bacterial Soundscape (four tracks)SoundCloud · loads when played

Sound design and composition for Kexin Liu’s 3607 — Bacterial Soundscape, a multimedia work made from the 3607 bacterial species detected in the artist’s own body. Their DNA, read by 16S amplicon sequencing, was translated into a four-track soundscape and pressed onto a vinyl record coloured with Serratia marcescens, a pigment-producing bacterium found in the human body, together with a catalogue of the DNA reads and a clamshell box made of bacteria-dyed book cloth.

The record splits into four tracks, each corresponding to a different site where bacteria were sampled (oral and nasal cavity, gut, skin, and vagina). The sonic information for each track correlates with the composition and abundance of the bacteria species inhabiting that part of the body. Due to the limits of the technology and of current knowledge, 8.8 per cent of the bacteria found are unclassifiable at genus level, which amounts to almost a third of the species detected. All the DNA sequences of the unclassifiable ones were translated linearly, a sound frequency assigned to each nucleotide in Max/MSP, creating a mysterious glitch for each species. The identifiable bacteria were instead grouped by similar physical and behavioural characteristics, and sound objects were synthesised for each group. Generative methods were used extensively to arrange these sound objects into an autonomous sonic microbiotic kingdom.

“The final soundscape is a mix of literal transcription and human interpretation of the bacteria information we have, capturing the elusive beauty of bacterial life forms.” — Kexin Liu

Vinyl record: bacteria pigment, vinyl, resin, 300 × 300 mm. Bacteria catalogue: hand-bound book with a bacteria-pigment screen-printed cover, 235 × 235 mm. Clamshell box: bacteria-dyed silk book cloth, paper, 340 × 340 mm. Photographs: Kexin Liu.

Credits

• Artist: Kexin Liu
• Sound design and composition: Zhao Jiajing
• Graphic design: Mariana Neves
• Technical consultants: Dr Keira Tucker; Zhiyuan Cao (sequencing)
• Made with the support of the Behrens Foundation Bursary

Awards

• 2022Graham Hughes Award (winning artwork)

Exhibitions

• 2024Grunwald Gallery, Indiana University, Bloomington, US (3 September–16 November)
• 2023Edinburgh Science Festival, Meadows Gallery, Summerhall, Edinburgh, UK (1 April–15 May)
• 2022Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven, NL (21–30 October)