Intelligent Bacteria : Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Intelligent Bacteria : Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, 2010 – 2011 | Sound Installation

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Since raising the excise duty on alcohol significantly in 2010, Indonesia has experienced an increase in homebrewed and black-market alcoholic drinks. However, people drinking this unregulated alcohol often become ill and there have been numerous reported fatalities. This project developed in response to the situation in Indonesia.

Through a series of workshops and exhibitions, this project aims to educate people on how to make safe and cheap fermented alcohol beverages, while democratizing the laboratory and liberating knowledge for a wider society.

The sound installation draws attention to the complexity of the fermentation process, permitting the audience to listen to the sound of fermentation, as yeast transforms sugar into ethanol and CO2. The sounds generated depend on a multitude of variables within the production process, including temperature, sugar levels, the types of fruit being used, the quantity of yeast, light intensity and the size of the containers used.

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Transmediale, HKW, Berlin, 2011

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The Loss of The Real, Selasar Sunaryo, Bandung, 2010

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This project was a collaboration between the artists’ initiative House of Natural Fiber and the Microbiology Lab of FAPERTA, UGM (Agricultural Faculty, Gadjah Mada University). Both parties wanted to experiment on ways of solving problems within the environment that they are living in through the junction of art and science. I am listing this project on my website as I was a member of HONF when this collaboration happened; and this project served a foundational approach for my further enquiries on the idea of preservation.

This project took of from my curiosity and questions, along with Agus Tri Budiarto and, eventually, Nur Akbar Arohfatullah. The collaboration began with the supervision of Prof. Irfan Prijambada (Microbiology Lab. of FAPERTA, UGM) and Vincencius Christiawan (HONF). Under the title “Intelligent Bacteria: Saccaromyches Cerevisiae” (abbreviated as IB:SC), the project was shown for a number of times:

  • FIXER, North Art Space, Jakarta, 2010, curated by Ade Darmawan & Rifky Effendy.
  • The Loss of the Real, a part of ‘Nu Substance Festival’ held at the Selasar Sunaryo Art Spaces, Bandung, 2010, curated by Agung Hujatnikajennong
  • Festival Kesenian Yogyakarta XXII (the annual Yogyakarta Art Festival), Vredeburg, Yogyakarta, 2010, curated by Rain Rosidi
  • Research Week Gadjah Mada University, Grha Sabha Pramana, Yogyakarta, 2010
  • cellsOPEN, a part of Cellsbutton#04, 7Soul distro, Yogyakarta, 2010
  • Transmediale, HKW, Berlin, 2011
  • Mal au Pixel #6, La Gaite Lyrique, Paris, 2011
  • Festival for Applied Acoustic, UFA Film Palast, Köln, 2011

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Kapitän Biopunk : Fermentation Madness, Layout & Manual