All That Moves Us: To the Spill
All That Moves Us: To the Spill an interactive kinetic installation that is both a meditative visual and sonic experience. Via hidden mechanics, hundreds of small metal beads in unexpected ways to generate a gentle susurration.
Developed during my 2025-26 art + science residency at UT’s Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials (CDCM) this work combines ideas from biophysics and ecological remediation.
Guided by Dr. Jose Alvarado’s research lab (ALAB) in the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, the artwork translates active matter theory and the scientific lineages of M. Cristina Marchetti into a sensory experience. The piece imagines a speculative future for ocean bioremediation, where humans can direct self-propelled swarms of germs to digest and break down marine oil spills.
“The tens of thousands of different compounds that make up oil can only be biodegraded by communities of microorganisms acting in concert.”
National Center for Biotechnology Information
Materials: single-channel thermal video
Dimensions: 45”H x 22”W x 22”D
Scientific Guidance: Dr. Jose Alvarado’s Lab (ALAB), Center for Nonlinear Dynamics, UT Austin
Engineering Support: Tejasva Kalra
Fabrication Support: Ayushi Kate & J.E. Johnson at Texas Inventionworks
Supported by: The Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials (CDCM), an NSF MRSEC at UT Austin
