Bac Up

Nancy Katri, Nao Sakamoto, Sanne van der Ploeg

2016

In Bac Up, hidden matter is decoded, archived and rendered visible. Real data is collected from different floor surfaces, stored digitally and presented to the public. Moreover, the samples return back to their original ‘clean’ sources by the illumination of actual petri dishes in the form of aluminium ‘bacterial-lamps’. 

Micro-universes constitute an integral part of our bodies and spaces. Invisible by the eye, microorganisms form a hidden layer of interior surfaces. By inhabiting spaces, we automatically become part of this circular, living strata that we embody and breathe. Nowadays, the interest regarding the knowledge that those microbial worlds provide us has increased. Meanwhile, more contradictive scenarios regarding hygiene in our interior habitats have been developed. Especially in the food industry, spaces are often expected to be perfectly hygienic in order to be appropriate.

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