Annalisa Vobis

Radiolarian Ooze

System of organisms inspired by Radiolarians. Radiolarians are marine planktonic protozoans which are characterized by transparent skeletons. They live in all depths of the oceans including sub-polar seas. When Radiolarians die, their glass shells sink to the bottom of the ocean into what is called the Radiolarian Ooze. It eventually forms sedimentary rock.

Radiolarian Ooze mimics the overwhelming use of plastic in our society. Made of 88 roles of clear plastic wrap, it was knitted into a large-scale sculpture floating above the ground.

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art

I-Park Residency

Werdau Project

While the process of crystallization is a metaphor for transformative, mental processes, Werdau Project is a site-specific space of memory about the communist times in eastern Germany. It focuses on social landscapes during the time of the iron curtain. constant awareness of growing fears could be found all over the place. My last visit in Werdau resulted in an overwhelming set of contrasting feelings in form of love and fear.

Biomimicry

96" x 180" x 72"; acrylic felt, plastic and foam; 2008

Biomimicry: from bios (life) and minesis, (to imitate). This science study investigates nature's best ideas and then copies their designs; resulting innovation inspired by nature. The work I am aiming for studies nature systems and processes. The landscape of marine habitats became a central topic in this project. Especially coral reefs are endangered because coral bleaching and other serious environmental stress can bring them to the point of extinction. Biomimicry is an utopian, artificial reef that reflects on the invasion of the bright green killer algae in the 1990s that devastated entire ecosystems in the Mediterranean sea. This fast-growing toxic seaweed finally dominated sea plant and marine animal communities. Heat transformed the soft felt material into crystallized plant formations. Artificial materials mimic evolutionary processes like melting, crystallization, transformation and growth.

Hybrid Organisms

The organisms I create are mixtures between botanical and zoological areas. The basis for the new organisms are gene parts of bacteria, plants and animals. Especially the forms and shapes of bacteria inform the surface design. The final gestalt of the hybrids is defined by animals like hamsters, elephants, or hedgehogs. These creatures move slowly through their environment. They move at sunny places and hide during bad weather in caves. They come together to create carpet-like groupings and their bodies are robust. They are constructions of prototype models of the active evolution. The dynamic movement allows these organisms to achieve more changes in a shorter time span. Today humankind has become an active part in the production of the new, and hybrid, species. We decide what type of creatures we want, therefore have to face responsibilities.