Metabolic Studio

Exploration of the Microbial, Chemical, and Art-Making Capacity of a Desiccated Site

Photos from June 2023 with Richard Nielsen and Lauren Bon, submerging aluminium plates in the Owens Lakebed to investigate the lake’s chemistry and it’s potential as a player in the pursuit of alternative materials/approaches to traditional lithography. The lakebed’s bio- and geo-chemistry possesses unconventional developing and fixing properties, and has been used by @msopticsdivision to process silver gelatin prints in the Owens Dry Lakebed itself. This project began as an inquiry into the interactions between aluminium litho plates, photolithographic plates, and the lakebed. Listened to the live feed of sound generated in an industrial silo on the edge of Owens Lake while we worked.

The results of these tests and observations made after the fact established a new and exciting set of material tests that are still in progress. This project was a reminder that the “what” often gets made in the process of doing—by way of relation— both human and land relations.