12 x 16 inches
Photoshop, darkroom processed watergram, cyanotype on glass
In Collaboration with Paul Skawinski, UW Stevens Point

As an artist, my intention is to create a bridge between micro and macro concepts. My goal for this piece was to display the beauty and importance of microorganisms found in aquatic ecosystems. Algae is the key to all life within these systems, as well as the key to life on earth. As these organisms are autotrophic, they create most of the oxygen we humans and mammals breath. Humans would not be able to exist if it weren’t for these fantastic microorganisms. In collaboration with Paul Skawinski, I learned more about the necessities of freshwater ecosystems. This piece was then created using a microscopic image of a Pediastrum Duplex (16-cell colony), which was rendered in photoshop and then mixed with natural processes of watergrams and cyanotypes. Upon viewing this work, I hope to invite viewers to witness the unseen fantastical nature of these species that give us air to breath and ponds and lakes to swim in.

When you look upon the sky by night, you can find the stars, which reflect their light through the heavens. But do you know that you can also find this in aquatic dwellings?

— Chitchai Chantangsi