©2024 PaChoua Yang. Please do not use images without permission from the artist.
30 x 40 inches
Acrylic paint and fluorescent acrylic paint on canvas
In Collaboration with Jacqueline Frances Lemaire, University of Wisconsin – Madison
My work explores the community of microbes we cannot see that are so small to our human eyes. They live everywhere in the water we drink, bathe, and even swim in.
Cyanobacteria usually multiply and bloom when the water is warm, stagnant, and rich in nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) from sources such as fertilizer runoff or septic tank overflows.
Cyanobacteria bloom in a form similar to spilled green paint or soft clouds in the water. On the surface, we can see that the blooms can turn the water in different shades green, blue and green, or brownish green colors. To depict the bright colors formed, I used fluorescent green acrylic paint to depict the photosynthetic pigments of chlorophyll (green pigment) and phycobilin (blue pigment) inside the Cyanobacteria.
These microbes cannot be seen individually yet when they are together, Cyanobacteria can turn freshwater and marine environments into an attractive image.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
PaChoua Yang is a student from University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. She is studying in the School of Design and Communication with a major of Fine Arts specialize in painting and drawing.
As a Hmong American mixed media artist, her work celebrates her culture, explores her identity, and highlights intergenerational connections. She hope to amplify the voices of refugees and immigrants, inspiring knowledge and skill-sharing. Her art transcends cultural differences, fostering a deeper understanding of cultural identity and integration. Focusing on Hmong cultural heritage, she bridges tradition and modernity, with threads symbolizing this connection. All of her works are inspired by Hmong paj ntaub (p-ah-dao). The art of paj ntaub is more than a textile craft. This was an essential form of communicating historical knowledge because the Hmong people, until recently, did not have a written form of their language.
PaChoua work with traditionally hand sewn, cross stitch paj ntaub everyday using bright color threads and fabric. She sketched different designs. She enjoy communicating with people to teach them all about her traditional culture and arts!
Her commission in FLOW 2024 is to use the visual language of art to educate what is the community of microbes we cannot see that are so small to our human eyes: their size, their colors, their appearance in details. This project was a great experience. FLOW project allows her to build connections with people from all over. She had opportunities to show some of my work and talk about what she does as an artist. It was also both exploration and inspiring to try different mediums, and learn new topics to execute the new pieces.
instagram: paj_ntshua-nplaimyaj
ABOUT THE WATER PARTNER
Jackie Lemaire is a PhD graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Jackie is studying microbial genetics in freshwater systems co-advised by Dr. Trina McMahon, Dr. Nicole Perna, and Dr. Jake Vander Zanden. Her work focuses on the genetic diversity and mechanisms maintaining diverse strains of Cyanobacteria in Lake Mendota that cause nuisance and potentially hazardous blooms in our water.
She has a B.S. in Genetics from the University of New Hampshire, where she studied natural Vibrio bacteria populations in the oysters and water of the Great Bay Estuary, in Portsmouth, NH. She continued to study environmental microbiology at Indigo Agriculture, a biotech company aimed at harnessing nature for a more sustainable future in farming by discovering and developing beneficial bacteria in nature that can promote crop and soil health via water and nutrient use efficiency.
When not in lab, she is bringing her dog on outdoor adventures and enjoying the local music scene in Madison.
MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH SUPPORT FROM
