Artworks

Talking Through Tubes: Inhaling (H)Air(y) Consciousness (2025)

The performative installation Talking Through Tubes: Inhaling (H)Air(y) Consciousness (2024–2025) explores the intricate interconnections between humanity, nature, and technology, with a strong emphasis on healing. The installation invites participants to engage with tubular forms symbolizing breath as a vital force while examining the microbial exchanges between Paxiubá palm bark and the human respiratory system. This relationship highlights the importance of ecosystemic complexity in urban environments, where biodiversity plays a crucial role in health and well-being. The installation features tubular structures, resembling the ones crafted from Paxiubá palm bark, traditionally used in Yuruparí instruments such as flutes, creating a bridge between ancient practices and contemporary artistic expression. Participants interact with these tubes by manipulating airflow rather than directly breathing into them to emphasize human agency in shaping the soundscape. AI- and Arduino-driven coolers regulate the airflow, transforming breath into dynamic melodies that reflect vitality and interconnectedness. related publications

Afterlives-Chimeras: Wetland Carbonized Memories (2025)

Afterlives-Chimeras: Wetland Carbonized Memories reflects on transformation, unity, and beauty amidst destruction. This project reimagines ancient Egyptian mummification practices involving animals—particularly those where multiple bones of felids were assembled as the “body” of the mummy—through the lens of ecological tragedy. It draws parallels between votive offerings to deities and the present-day sacrifice of wildlife in Brazil’s wetlands, driven by neoliberal industries like agribusiness, mining, and steel production. Using AI tools such as KREA.AI and Meshy.AI, the project begins with a 10-second video from photographs of carbonized animals. Frames from this video, extracted via EZgif, serve as input for creating 3D models of hybrid creatures in Meshy.AI. The resulting works blend images of carbonized wildlife into surreal chimeras—hybrid, animal-like forms—symbolizing the merging of distinct creatures through fire devastation. These digital creations are translated into 3D-printed sculptures in white PLA, evoking the linen used in Egyptian mummification. The haunting forms embody both physical destruction and humanity’s complicity in ecological collapse. The melting aesthetics of the AI-generated frames—where the trained model grapples with tangencies—amplify the themes of loss and transformation. The Afterlives-Chimeras stand as collective memorials, urging humanity to confront the consequences of industrial expansion, consumerism, and the interconnectedness of all life. They emphasize the need for a new ethos that respects ecological interdependence and honors the life forms sacrificed in the name of progress. This project invites reflection on how creation and unity can arise from ruin, challenging us to acknowledge our shared responsibility for endangered ecosystems. related publications

Window Water ${object} Moving (convolutional mnemonics) (2024)

The installation Window Water ${object} Moving (Convolutional Mnemonics) (2023–2024) explores the use of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) with ml5.js for object classification to critically examine ectogenesis in the context of chronopolitics and its related temporal aesthetics. The work reflects on the evolution of governmental views, policies, and programs concerning population size and growth, addressing the necropolitical use of human bodies to drive economic growth—an approach with profound and often detrimental impacts on our fragile coexistence on Planet Earth. As if an appropriated and deconstructed hookah could serve as a “metaphorical ectogenous chamber,” the relational object—comprising a plastic bag resembling a biobag for ectogenesis, an atomizer, a USB camera integrated with p5.js and ml5.js for object classification, and two flexible hookah hoses with handles—invites audience participation. Viewers can influence the mist patterns by blowing through the hoses, directly impacting the machine learning library’s object classification. In this way, the ml5 library “guesses” objects from fluid mist patterns much like humans interpret shapes in clouds. The work delves into a speculative generative convolutional aesthetics of “objects-as-babies-as-objects,” critiquing a hypermediated algorithmic society that seems to prioritize the production of identifiable, namable outcomes over more nuanced or organic possibilities. The trans-object’s form and function—manipulating mist patterns by blowing through the tubes—invites animistic interpretations, connecting the tubes to flutes, shamanic pipes, respiratory and reproductive organs, and their generative powers as conceptualized in Amazonian Tucano cosmology. This perspective draws from anthropologist Stephen Hugh-Jones’s Thinking Through Tubes: Flowing H/air and Synaesthesia, bridging cultural cosmologies with contemporary explorations of technology and aesthetics. related publications

Talking Through Tubes: Molecular Ecologies of Place (2024)

Exploring the interplay of physical, digital, and ecological elements from cross-scale perspectives, the interactive installation Talking Through Tubes (2023–2024) examines how these interactions shape our understanding and experience of place. The work interprets layered ecologies, emphasizing the interplay of human, non-human, and technological actors in creating sustainable and interconnected environments in the digital age. Foregrounding the “semantic aspect of shamanism” within a technoetic framework, the installation revisits Roy Ascott’s 1996 concept of the “shamantic,” which relates to phenomena that transcend the macroscale. Situated on city trees in gardens, squares, and sidewalks, the relational system—more than a relational object—belongs to the series Inhaling Consciousness. It consists of a tree branch outfitted with a flexible tube or prosthesis (made of PVC pipe), Arduino, dust sensor, and LCD screen, creating a cross-scale exploration of the “tube” as both an object and a concept while relating it to the human body. Passersby are invited to interact with the installation by holding and moving the tube freely, blowing air through it (extending from the tree’s body to the human body), or inhaling its interior. This act promotes microbial exchanges between the microbiota of humans and trees, symbolically healing the disrupted biotic conversations caused by anthropogenic impacts. This interactive installation reflects on the interdependencies of ecosystems, technology, and human agency in fostering more integrated and meaningful relationships with the natural world. related publications

Metachanges Painting (2024)

A century ago, living in a city with 10 million inhabitants seemed unimaginable, yet by 2018, 33 urban areas qualified as ‘megacities.’ Drawing on weather data from Open Weather Map for 30 megacities identified by the World Economic Forum, the installation Metachanges Painting (2024) explores the materialization of meta-forms—the notion that a single image can give rise to a multitude of meanings. The concept of ‘metachanges’ refers to discernible ‘changes of changes’ in metadata. The installation invites participants to engage performatively with global temperature differences, fostering climate awareness. By touching a screen to draw shapes that change color based on live weather data and simultaneously trigger sound through weather data sonification, viewers are immersed in ‘datamancy’—an active process of creating meaning from available information, akin to interpreting the lines on one’s palm. Inspired by Roy Ascott’s definition of the art object as “behaviorable in its history, futurible in its structure, trigger in its effect” (1968), the work explores how meta-forms, generated through processes intertwined with audience participation, can serve as tools for ‘performative data-visualization.’ This piece also revisits and reimagines Ascott’s Change Paintings series (1963–1967), aligning its exploration with his concepts of ‘Behaviorables and Futurables.’ It delves into how ‘prefiguration’—information latent within raw data—can shape ‘futuribles,’ offering a Technoetic Arts aesthetic lens through which to interpret and interact with generative, participatory art in the digital age. related publications

Fluorescent-Self (2024)

Transmutation, the essence of alchemy, encompasses chemical and physiological transformations such as healing, reversing aging, or transcending earthly existence. The performative technoetics experiment The Fluorescent-Self (2024) investigates the environmental and biological impacts of the necrobiome—postmortem microbial and biochemical legacies that alter the chemistry and microbiomes of soil and plants. These molecular-level changes, seen as “memories of the self,” can be tracked using simple Arduino-based fluorometers and AI by analyzing chlorophyll fluorescence dissolved in diethyl ether or through spectral fluorescence at the leaf level. From a ‘molmediatic’ perspective, the project reflects on the potential implications of necrobiome transmutation. Just as organ transplantation has been observed to cause permanent behavioral changes—raising ethical concerns about xenotransplantation involving pig-human hybrids—the molecular-level information from a decomposing animal’s necrobiome could hypothetically lead to a form of “chimerized consciousness,” merging the essences of animals and plants. This thought-provoking exploration bridges biochemistry, ecology, and speculative aesthetics, pushing the boundaries of how we perceive interconnectedness and transformation across life forms. related publications

Data-Phantoms: Impossible Nests (Memories Post Extinction) (2023)

Recent studies highlight that in ‘anthropogenic landscapes,’ birds are losing their ability to sing and build nests due to early parental loss and fragmented communities. The work Data-Phantoms: Impossible Nests (Memories Post Extinction) (2022–2023) explores the phantasmagoric qualities of raw data derived from “nature traces” of six bird species now extinct in the wild. Transforming birdsong recordings into geometrically complex and irregular data sculptures, the project interprets sequential morphogenetic transformations from numerical data into tangible forms. Expressing the poetics embedded in the tools and processes of parametric modeling and digital fabrication, as well as the metaphysical aspects of data visualization, the work aims to reinforce our ‘symbiotic imaginaries’ by envisioning worlds where humans and other living beings co-exist and collaborate in shared survival efforts. The six resulting data sculptures—imperfect or “impossible nests”—are tentative expressions of the sublime within dystopian data-visualization aesthetics. Their irregular and messy geometries evoke broken ecologies where birds can no longer perform their songs, mate successfully, or learn from their communities to build optimal nests. These sculptures stand as haunting reminders of ecological fragility and the profound impact of human activities on biodiversity. related publications

We Bring Your Microbiome Back (2023)

“We Bring Your Microbiome Back” (2022–2023) is a pole poster intervention installed on trees, inviting passersby to delve into environmental microbiological complexity through cross-scale exploration. Visitors could detach fragments of pole posters attached to trees at the University of Fortaleza campus in Brazil, an area granted as a concession by IBAMA to the educational institution. The posters featured QR codes leading to an online database with information about microbiome restoration and photographic documentation of native microbial populations cultivated from tree bark samples in Petri dishes. The project also utilized Instagram (hashtag #webringyourmicrobiomeback) to share visual content, allowing viewers to access data on trees and their bark microbial colonies. The images showcased bacterial and fungal growth observed after 48 hours of incubation, offering a window into the unseen microbial ecosystems thriving on tree bark. Featured species and their microbial documentation on January 31, 2023, included: Terminalia catappa Linn (Indian Almond, Hindi: जंगली बादाम), Adansonia digitata (African Baobab), Mangifera indica (Mango, believed to have originated between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India), Delonix regia (Flamboyant, native to Madagascar), Couroupita guianensis (Cannonball Tree, native to the tropical forests of Central and South America). This intervention bridges scientific exploration and public engagement, fostering awareness of the intricate relationships between trees, their microbial inhabitants, and environmental health. It underscores the potential for microbiome restoration to contribute to broader ecological sustainability. The reach of “We Bring Your Microbiome Back” was expanded through subsequent interventions at key global locations. During FeMeeting 2023 in Taos, New Mexico, samples were collected in Santa Fe. Similar actions followed in Brooklyn, NYC, and at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts (SIVA) Technoetic Arts Campus in the Songjiang district of Shanghai, engaging participants in microbiological exploration and sparking a cross-cultural dialogue on ecological restoration. 

These interventions furthered the project’s mission of integrating art, science, and public participation. Tailoring the initiative to various environmental and cultural contexts deepened the discussion on microbiome restoration while highlighting the interconnectedness of ecosystems worldwide. Each location contributed distinct perspectives, enhancing the narrative and the project's impact.

Data-Nesta (2021)

What happens when humans and birds engage with each other through a collaboration-as-fantasy mediated by computers? Could such an exercise be modeled in a way that helps us transcend the techno-ocularcentric fetishes for precision and certainty that define our time? Drawing from Edgar Wind’s notion of incarnation—the convergence of empirical experience and metaphysical foundation in a single cognitive and experiential act—this work explores the analog-digital continuum. It navigates nature’s strategies for embodying inherited and learned complex behaviors in the design of nests, conceptualized as Data-Nests (2021). The project responds to Amy-Claire Huestis’s invitation to reflect on the artist’s role as enmeshed in a human/non-human world, where other species and entities are co-creators. The work metaphorically collaborates with a black-capped chickadee bird in designing potential nests. This is achieved by algorithmically transducing an excerpt of the bird’s vocalization into a data-informed sculpture. The final data-object was CNC-carved from plain wood and subtly placed in trees as an intervention in a small nature reserve on the Atlantic coast in Fortaleza, Brazil. The poetics of this work suggest offering the black-capped chickadee a hypothetical choice or opportunity to use the algorithmic co-creation as a nest, as if it were seamlessly reintegrated into nature, never truly detached from it.

related publications

Fly-Through Hydrogen: A Quantum Fantasy (2021)  

Fly-Through Hydrogen: A Quantum Fantasy (2021) presents an animation of a 3D data-sculpture derived from the algorithmic recreation of a striking image created through velocity map imaging (VMI) spectrometry. This image captures the nodal structure of Stark states in hydrogen atoms, offering an extraordinary visualization of quantum phenomena. The work translates the elusive probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics into a sensory experience. The colorful 3D objects represent “ghost memories” of a single electron existing simultaneously in multiple locations, an artistic interpretation of quantum superposition. The animation’s rapid fly-through immerses viewers in a world where nothing is fixed, evoking the ethereal and transient properties of quantum reality. The accompanying audio composition is crafted from data sonification, layering edited spectrometry data to produce a haunting and otherworldly soundscape that reinforces the themes of uncertainty and possibility. This work debuted as part of Ars Electronica 2021 at the Garden LASER (Leonardo/ISAST Art Science Evening Rendezvous), alongside a curated selection of video poems from the series “LASER as Interventions: Asynchronous LASER Series” (2021). These video works, featured on Instagram (@clarissa__ribeiro and @lasertalks), explored the interplay of art and science in IGTV format. Fly-Through Hydrogen was also showcased at the Politics of the Machines (POM): Berlin 2021 conference during the panel “The Quantum Biology of Politics.” Collaborating with thinkers and artists like Mick Lorusso, Victoria Vesna, James Gimzewski, Claudia Jacques, Ivana Dama, and Kaitlin Bryson, Ribeiro contributed to a dynamic dialogue exploring the intersection of quantum mechanics, biology, and sociopolitical structures. The project blends cutting-edge scientific visualization with poetic interpretation, offering a contemplative exploration of the quantum realm. It underscores the entanglement of art, science, and technology in addressing fundamental questions about existence and reality. Through its hybrid presentation formats—ranging from gallery installations to social media dissemination—it engages diverse audiences in the mysteries and implications of quantum phenomena. related publications

GeoLocated #LOVE (2021)

GeoLocated #LOVE (2020-2021) is a series of four data-sculptures named after the world’s riskiest countries as ranked by International SOS: Libya, Somalia, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. Using tweets containing the hashtag #LOVE from local users in these nations, the project critically examines the geopolitical, economic, and environmental forces that perpetuate marginalization and degradation in regions where all living beings strive for equality and fundamental freedoms. Each of the selected countries embodies complex histories shaped by global and local influences: Libya: Home to Africa’s largest proven oil reserves, Libya remains deeply entangled in conflicts exacerbated by international interests; Somalia: Decades of civil strife and governmental disintegration have left it among the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa; South Sudan: Rich in untapped oil reserves, its free-money economy has masked severe ethnopolitical divides, deepening instability; Central African Republic: Abundant in gold, diamonds, and uranium, yet trapped in civil war and the enduring scars of colonization. The project transduces tweets into points’ clouds within a 3D environment modeling software, transforming raw data into tangible forms. Following an animistic and subversive approach to data-visualization, these points are encapsulated within irregular solids inspired by the geometry of a human heart. Each data-sculpture was carved from plain wood using a 4-axis Roland MDX-540 milling machine, merging advanced fabrication technology with metaphysical inquiry. Exhibited in 2020 at the University of Ceará Museum of Art (MAUC) in Fortaleza, Brazil, the sculptures prompt reflection on the intersection of data, technology, and socio-political narratives. By rendering digital information into physical forms, the project questions the capacity of digital fabrication technologies to make abstract data more concrete, fostering collective awareness of the socio-political implications embedded within it. The effort to sculpt the heart-shaped data-objects in plain wood signifies a metaphysical exploration: how can we materialize the immense flows of online data to connect with human emotions and socio-political realities? GeoLocated #LOVE invites viewers to engage with these invisible yet impactful narratives, turning data into a medium for empathy and understanding. related publications

Gaussian Fantasies (2021)  

Gaussian Fantasies (2021) is a series of data-sculptures created using audio (dB variation) as the primary raw data input. This radical form-finding experiment employs Machine Learning (ML) Gaussian Mixture models to explore the accuracy of cluster rendering, where the material visualized in the final rendered object emerges as both a generative occurrence and a 3D object. The work addresses issues related to information visualization and artificial intelligence (AI). Since there is no AI without data, the intersection of AI and the arts is deeply entwined with data management and visualization, including their cultural and socio-political dimensions. In 2011, Warren Sack, a software designer, media theorist, and professor at UCSC, emphasized the importance of questioning why we should map textual or numerical data into the visual—beyond simply asking how data can be mapped. Sack argued for the formulation of an aesthetics of information visualization, asking: “What is the critical, artistic value of works in information visualization, considering that aesthetics examines issues of sensation and perception?” This work reflects my belief that by collaborating with AI processes and logic, contemporary artists can expand humanity’s potential to represent ambiguity, otherness, and the multi-dimensionality of our shared experiences with machines. Such collaborations allow us to transcend the familiar and normalized modernist techniques in search of a shared subjectivity—one that includes the profound new dimension of being immersed in data, as highlighted by Lev Manovich in 2002. related publications

If You Hold the Stone Hold It in Your Hand (2020)

The installation “If You Hold the Stone Hold It in Your Hand” (2020) comprises a series of seven data-sculptures algorithmically generated using data from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the number of COVID-19 cases per country. The seven countries with the highest number of cases were selected: the United States, Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and France. The WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard provided the numerical data used to generate a cloud of points within Rhino 6, with the geometry of a human hand serving as the limiting box. From this population of points, a series of superimposed surfaces was generated and converted into meshes. These meshes, when inflated, created intricate geometric contaminations that distorted the base geometry of the hand, as though the numerical “skin” had overflowed its boundaries. The resulting aggressive geometries disrupt the subtlety of the hand’s gesture, rendering an impossible act of holding hands. The work captures the impossibility of touch, the invisible danger of the virus lingering on the surface of hands, and the enforced necessity of social distancing. It reflects the pervasive fear of the unseen—the intangible yet potentially deadly presence of the virus—embodying a sense of vulnerability and the anxiety of the unknown. related publications

Photoacoustic Meditation (2020)  

In 1880, Alexander Graham Bell explored the photoacoustic effect, experimenting with long-distance sound transmission using his photophone. This device transmitted vocal signals by reflecting sunlight off a moving mirror to a solar cell receiver. Inspired by this historical experiment, Photoacoustic Meditation (Winter/Summer Solstice 2020) was presented as part of Victoria Vesna’s [Alien] Star Dust: Signal to Noise — a 24-hour virtual event on the Winter Solstice, December 21. The live performance incorporated a device that converted sunlight and infrared radiation into sound. It was streamed live on December 21, 2020, from an old metal bridge by the Atlantic Ocean in Fortaleza, Brazil. The container for the electronics was a data-sculpture, created through a generative design process that combined audio captures from the Atlantic coast (Fortaleza, Brazil) and the Pacific coast (Los Angeles, USA). These recordings were shared on WhatsApp between Professor Victoria Vesna and me in December 2020. This symbolic device, fabricated in translucent PLA, served as a fragile portal to channel global and cosmic energies into the chosen location—a sunset spot by the ocean. The site holds profound cultural and historical significance, being near a 114-year-old community of descendants of migrants who came from the desert-like countryside of the state, seeking better lives in the capital city. related publications

Data-Confluences (2021

Data-Confluences1 is an experimental project that combines data extracted from short videos I captured from my 16th-floor balcony during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2021 in Fortaleza, Brazil, with contributions from friends and collaborators across the seven continents: Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe, North America, South America, and Antarctica. The shared data from these distant locations was merged into the design of seven algorithmic transductions. These data sculptures were created for the Culture Hub Los Angeles Re-Fest 2021, exhibited in Virtual Reality at the festival’s Virtual Gallery, and later displayed in Wuhan, China, as part of the ChinaVis 2021 Arts Program curated exhibition. These algorithmic monuments reflect the confluence of data from diverse locations, serving as poetic reminders of the need for connection and collaboration during times of global isolation. The project included contributions from Victoria Vesna (North America, Los Angeles), Jill Scott and Marille Hahne (Europe, Zurich), Mick Lorusso (North America, Los Angeles), Rewa Wright (Australia, Newcastle), Stavros Didakis and Yunle Chen (Asia, Shanghai), Ruy Cezar Campos (Africa, Sangano, Angola), PROANTAR (Antarctica, Brazilian Antarctic Station), and Karina Lopez (South America, Ensenada, B.C., Mexico). The first experiment inspiring this series was the data-sculpture created for the performance Photoacoustic Meditation (featured in Victoria Vesna’s [Alien] Star Dust: Signal to Noise, Winter Solstice 2020). This work utilized combined (superimposed) audio captures from the Atlantic and Pacific coast shorelines, shared via WhatsApp, as primary data. related publications

PsychoBread and PsychoCheese, Transplanting the Self (2020)  

This project explores recent scientific findings demonstrating that molecular remnants of dead bacteria, such as Lactobacillus, can still influence human behavior if ingested. Adapted for live performances on Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic, the audience was invited to create PsychoBread using samples of their salivary microbiome for the fermentation process. A workshop based on this performance was delivered at the 2020 edition of the UCLA SciArt Nanolab Summer Institute, hosted by the Art|Sci Center and Lab in Los Angeles. Expanding on this concept, participants in workshops or performances were also invited to create vegan PsychoBread or PsychoCheese using their microbiome samples. In 2024, the project was reimagined as a workshop for the artist residency TTT Fellows in Corfu and Othonoi, Greece, continuing its exploration of the intersections between science, art, and participatory practice. related publications

Inhaling Consciousness (2020) ISEA 2020 Montreal, Canada 

The series Inhaling Consciousness (2019–ongoing) explores the potential of bioart to evoke ecological consciousness in audiences. The works within this series investigate possible integrations and exchanges of information between the microbiome of above-ground trees and the human respiratory and digestive systems. Drawing inspiration from animistic views of Amazonian indigenous communities, which frame ecologies as cosmologies, the series navigates the interconnectedness of living systems. A trans-object from the series was exhibited in Porto, Portugal, as part of the juried exhibition Sentient States: Bio-Mind and Techno-Nature during the Consciousness Reframed conference in June 2019. For ISEA 2020 in Montreal, a variation of the artwork was developed to address local ecological issues from a panpsychist perspective. This adaptation replaced the cork oak with the coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus), a threatened species in Canada, and incorporated it into a compact version of the apparatus. related publications

Inhaling Consciousness (2019) CR2019 Porto, Portugal

The series Inhaling Consciousness (2019–ongoing) explores the potential of bioart to evoke ecological consciousness in audiences. The works within this series investigate possible integrations and exchanges of information between the microbiome of above-ground trees and the human respiratory and digestive systems. Drawing inspiration from animistic views of Amazonian indigenous communities, which frame ecologies as cosmologies, the series navigates the interconnectedness of living systems. A trans-object from the series was exhibited in Porto, Portugal, as part of the juried exhibition Sentient States: Bio-Mind and Techno-Nature during the Consciousness Reframed conference in June 2019. For ISEA 2020 in Montreal, a variation of the artwork was developed to address local ecological issues from a panpsychist perspective. This adaptation replaced the cork oak with the coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus), a threatened species in Canada, and incorporated it into a compact version of the apparatus. related publications

Political Crystals: Numinous Hashtags  (2019)

The small collection of data-sculptures titled Political Crystals: Numinous Hashtags was exhibited in 2019 at SIGGRAPH ASIA’s Art Gallery in Brisbane, Australia. This project is a poetic critique of the Brazilian 2018 presidential elections, addressing the perverse entanglement of religion and politics. It combines parametric modeling and generative strategies for data visualization with digital fabrication, transforming data into intricate forms. The work uses raw data extracted from Twitter APIs to perform sequential data analysis and conversions. Specifically, it juxtaposes hashtags related to the elections, sourced from tweets originating in Brazil’s nine largest cities. The resulting 3D forms reflect two contrasting perspectives. On one hand, the shapes appear as sharp, aggressive materializations of the heated “hashtag wars,” embedding metadata tags into their structures. On the other hand, their irregular and intricate geometry evokes the sublime qualities of natural crystal clusters, such as quartz formations. These crystal-like forms are not arbitrary; they metaphorically connect to a region in Brazil infamous for a nefarious meeting in the 1980s. This gathering laid the foundation for strategies that culminated in the 2018 election of a far-right candidate, achieved through the manipulation of a faithful constituency that propagated hate speech against minorities. The project serves as a critical reflection on this manipulation, highlighting how populist ideologies in Latin America have resurfaced, tethered to their fascist roots, under the guise of religious and political alliances. related publications

Transplanting the Self: Microbiome Anthropophagy (2018)  

“Transplanting the Self: Microbiome Anthropophagy” was installed in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May 2018 as part of the POM Politics of the Machine conference collective exhibition curated by Sebastian Frese Bülow. The work was also presented as a performance that invited public participation, allowing individuals to act as microbiome donors and recipients in the production and consumption of the Psychobiotonic, a probiotic alcoholic drink. This project was later adapted into workshops delivered at the 2018, 2019, and 2020 editions of the UCLA SciArt Nanolab Summer Institute at the Art|Sci Center and Lab in Los Angeles. It was also included in the Ars Electronica Festival 2020 | “In Kepler’s Gardens,” performed live on Zoom. The concept imagines a fictional scenario where individuals can embody specific personality types by accessing encapsulated microbiome samples derived from donors with distinct personality profiles.  “Transplanting the Self: Microbiome Anthropophagy” explores the boundaries of microbiome manipulation and invites online audiences to participate as “personality donors” in a collaborative performance. The work evokes ancient rituals, such as using saliva from young virgins in the production of ritualistic alcoholic drinks, practices found in certain Brazilian tribal ceremonies linked to hunting or anthropophagy. The project originated from a concept presented in a talk at the Consciousness Reframed International Conference (CR2017) in Beijing, China, held at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA). This presentation led to an article published in Technoetic Arts Journal, Intellect Books, UK. For the online collaborative performance, participants were provided with instructions to create their own Psychobiotic drink, requiring pre-cooked cassava or sweet potato, boiling water, and their own saliva. Participants chewed the cassava or potato, mixed it with saliva, and left it to ferment, following detailed instructions. They were then encouraged to take an online personality test and submit their personality type, a profile picture, and a short biography. In return, they received a personalized label for their Psychobiotic bottle, completing the cycle of the participatory artwork. related publications

Entrancer: Be Sicklecell, Be A Hero (2018)

Entrancer: Be Sicklecell Be a Hero (2018) invites reflection on issues of race in scientific research, particularly those surrounding sickle cell anemia. The interactive artwork allows participants to “dance” with a virtual, moving model of a sickle-shaped blood cell in Augmented Reality (created using Vuforia Engine and Unity), deformed from the 3D model of a normal blood cell. This immersive experience is set to the rhythm of a Brazilian samba, which has been distorted and combined with sonified fragments of microscope images of sickle-cell textures (processed as raw data in Adobe Audition). The metamorphosis of samba into its distorted version metaphorically references the mutant sickle-cell’s transformation, which can act as a defense against malaria—challenging the perception of sickle cell anemia as merely a genetic condition linked to Black populations. The installation pays homage to Hélio Oiticica’s iconic works, merging the conceptual ethos of his Parangolé and the stencil piece Be an Outlaw Be a Hero from the Marginalia series. This hybrid conceptual work proposes a “cross-over” between these influences and is adaptable to various exhibition spaces and contexts, making it versatile for diverse audiences and venues. Created in collaboration with Herbert Rocha and Daniel Valente, the project aligns with the 2018 ISEA themes, particularly addressing the politics of science and its intersections with xenophobia, colonial legacies, and contemporary power structures within media art. It also engages with the theme Spirit and Flesh, exploring intangible heritage related to gene mutation and population genetics, integrating these scientific realities into visceral and poetic experiences.

The work seeks to foster a pluralistic, cross-scale understanding of the self and the body while challenging the conventions of fixed museum environments. As an Augmented Reality installation, it proposes new ways of activating public spaces and rethinking the accessibility and relevance of art in diverse settings. related publications

Interstellar/Spatial Reliefs (2017)  

Exploring NASA’s Stardust Discovery-class mission database, this installation offers a peaceful and playful engagement with interstellar space and its vast data troves. It examines how the immense volume of information derived from space exploration can be appropriated and integrated into an artist’s poetics, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in the experiential dimension of space technologies. For its installation at the ISEA 2017 collective exhibition in Manizales, the audience entered a softly illuminated room with AR markers atop eleven small bottles suspended by transparent nylon cords, each containing a single LED that illuminated the marker. Participants, equipped with an iPad mini and headphones, explored the space to discover an immersive soundscape accompanied by 3D generative designs derived from micro-scale images of aerogel samples. These aerogels, used in NASA’s Stardust mission, captured cosmic dust particles, creating an interactive narrative that transforms scientific data into art. The soundscape was composed through data sonification techniques, translating the color variations of captured particles into audible frequencies. The installation pays tribute to Helio Oiticica’s radical Spatial Reliefs series (1960), reinterpreting his exploration of space and form in a digital and cosmic context. It is conceptually linked to NASA’s Stardust mission—a 300-kilogram robotic spacecraft launched on February 7, 1999, aboard a Delta 2 rocket. The spacecraft captured cometary dust from Wild 2’s nucleus and interstellar particles, making it the first mission to return such material to Earth. These cosmic particles, preserved from the solar system’s formation, symbolize a record of life’s origins and the navigation of life’s building blocks across the universe. For the IEEE VIS 2017 Arts Program in Phoenix, Arizona, the installation incorporated a table adorned with cards depicting eleven nebulae observed from Earth’s southern hemisphere. Visitors could freely take these cards, using AR to reveal “spatial reliefs” and embedded audio. Each 3D model represented an aerogel fragment linked to stardust data sonification, offering an imaginative, cross-scale, space-time exploration of nebulae and their chemical memories. This collaborative project, developed with Mick Lorusso, Herbert Rocha, and Daniel Valente, bridges art and science, creating an evocative dialogue between the micro and macro cosmos while reflecting on the origins of life and our connection to the universe. related publications

Ulysses Pact  (2016)

Ulysses Pact (2016) is a performative interactive sound installation that metaphorically draws on the ancient myth of Ulysses (Odysseus) and the pact he made with his crew to resist the Sirens’ song. The work serves as a dramatic and poetic invitation to reflect on the chaotic and multifaceted nature of our plurisystemic selves—dynamic conglomerates of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) resembling the bustling, noisy interactions of a metropolis, mirroring the microbiomic conversations within our bodies. The installation is staged in a darkened, secluded corner of the exhibition space, where a single participant at a time is invited to sit in an object reminiscent of Benjamin Rush’s (1749–1813) Tranquilizer Chair, historically designed for psychiatric patients. Integrated with a circuit of sensors and piezoelectric generators, the chair immerses the individual in a full-body vibrational experience—a cross-scale “sound bath” that resonates deeply with the participant’s senses. The allure of the chair’s unusual design draws the individual into an introspective exploration of their visceral, embodied self. Inspired by a personal interest in investigating potential links between schizophrenia and the human microbiota, Ulysses Pact incorporates data sonification as its core artistic strategy. The work utilizes raw data from a scientific study exploring the composition, taxonomy, and functional diversity of the oropharynx microbiome in individuals with schizophrenia compared to controls. Through this sonification, the installation transforms microbial data into an auditory experience, creating an intimate encounter with the unseen dynamics within the human body. As the first in a series of works dedicated to investigating plurisystemic conversations within the body, Ulysses Pact adopts a cross-scalar perspective, considering phenomena such as quantum entanglement as a foundational communicational strategy. This perspective informs the conceptualization of the human body as a CAFFS—Complex Affective Feedback System—a term coined by the artist to describe the self-organizing, emergent structures within us. Consciousness is envisioned as an emergent property of these interconnected, adaptive systems, resonating with the installation’s exploration of entangled relationships between the biological, emotional, and quantum realms. related publications

Bag-Bug: Adaptive Horizontal Transfers (2017)  

Thank you for pointing that out! Here’s the revised description:

Bag-Bug: Adaptive Horizontal Transfer (2017) was a bioart installation that merged biology, technology, and art to explore microbial exchanges and their metaphorical implications. Using Colombian coffee beans from the Coffee Cultural Landscape as a medium, the project created an immersive, participatory environment where audience members engaged in a “Horizontal Gene Transfer Session (HGTS).” By exposing their external and internal body surfaces (skin, mouth, ears, eyes, nose) to the microbial and molecular ecosystem of the coffee beans, participants symbolically and potentially partook in cross-species molecular-scale interactions. The installation consisted of a series of sleeping bags filled with coffee beans, each equipped with embedded electronics, including dust sensors (DSM501A), microcontrollers (Arduino), and displays. These components collected and visualized data from the microbial-particle cloud surrounding the apparatus and its interaction with the human body. This data offered a quantifiable dimension to the microbial and molecular exchanges occurring during the experience, transforming the imperceptible into a tangible and imagined narrative. The microbial population within the coffee beans reflected a rich heritage, as coffee production involves mixed microbial fermentation. Organisms such as Erwinia dissolvens, Bacillus species, Saccharomyces, Endomycopsis, and lactic acid bacteria (e.g., Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, and Streptococcus) contributed to the beans’ microbial ecosystem. Through this setup, the installation emphasized the interconnectedness of microbiomes across species and geographies, while also contemplating the possibilities of Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT)—a process where genetic information is exchanged between species, facilitated by microbial interactions. The project paid tribute to Hélio Oiticica’s iconic work B50 Bólide Saco 2 ‘Olfático’ (1967), which used plastic and coffee as materials. Like Oiticica, Bag-Bug transformed everyday materials into an apparatus for sensory and conceptual exploration. However, Bag-Bug extended the dialogue into the molecular and genetic realms, highlighting the permeability and adaptability of the human body as a site of constant microbial transit and recombination. Bag-Bug raised questions about the preservation of heritage, both biological and cultural, through microbial interactions. By engaging with environmental and biological histories encoded in the coffee beans’ microbiome, the installation foregrounded the potential for art to mediate these narratives across scales. The work challenged audiences to reconsider their own bodies as complex ecosystems, open to continuous transformation through microbial exchanges. Through its interactive design, Bag-Bug imagined a world where genetic recombination became a metaphor for the interconnectedness of all living systems and the shared biological heritage that transcends species and borders. related publications

MindRemix [navigational extra-sensorium] (2015)

“MindRemix [navigational extra-sensorium]," a collaboration with Milena Szafir, explores the complex interaction between the brain, emotion, and sensory experience in relation to the sublime. The sublime, often associated with experiences that transcend ordinary perception, can overwhelm our sensorial and extrasensory systems, creating a state of astonishment that challenges our cognitive and emotional understanding. This project examines how the heart-brain neuronal complex processes and responds to such extreme experiences, especially when faced with phenomena so complex or vast that they defy comprehension in their entirety. The installation allows participants to navigate their personal video memories—accessed through databanks and driven by their heart-brain waves. By tapping into heart-brain interlaced activity, the project suggests that our consciousness and emotional state are dynamically linked to the way we perceive and interact with the sublime. This phenomenon can be witnessed in various states of mind, whether in moments of deep meditation seeking mindful awareness or in extreme physical experiences. “MindRemix” proposes that the disruption of one’s informational structure—when encountering the ineffable or pushing the limits of our understanding—can transform the way we engage with the world. The project investigates how such experiences shape and influence our perception of self, consciousness, and reality.

First presented conceptually at an artist talk during ISEA 2015 in Vancouver, Canada, and later at a conference in New York City the same year, the project draws on the idea that the sublime has the power to transcend ordinary cognition, entering a domain where the brain’s capacity for processing information is stretched, reshaped, or even transformed by intense sensory experiences. The systemic semi-material apparatus, designed by Clarissa Ribeiro, integrates EEG to allow users to navigate online video memories using readings of their heart-brain vibrations. By reading, processing, and sonifying body signals from the heart-brain complex to access and play videos from a database, the project invites participants to explore the emotional dynamics of their physiological synchronization. The wearable system captures variations in blood density that reflect emotional states, controlling access to the video memories database. These blood density changes, driven by the heart’s pumping action, are detected using an infrared LED and phototransistor. A hidden webcam captures a live video of the participant, interlaced with video memories, mixing the experience of confronting the sublime with one’s visual memories—an intense challenge for the self in facing one's own image. related publications

Cat's Eye Nebula  (2015)  

The subtle apparatuses that integrate the work consist simultaneously of a memory and an actualization of possible entanglements between the two artists collaborating on its production—Clarissa Ribeiro and Mick Lorusso. In the artwork, originally installed at the same time in Shanghai’s Roy Ascott Studio Gallery and at the UCLA Art|Sci Gallery, lasers are diffracted into patterns that evoke the nebula. In each black box, a piezoelectric sensor captures visitors’ vibrations and translates them into the movement of diamond-like glass forms, which shift the laser patterns. These are captured by a hidden webcam and sent via live streaming to the other exhibition space. The actual Cat’s Eye Nebula (NGC 6543), according to NASA, is a visual fossil record of the dynamics and late evolution of a dying star and is one of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen, captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The structures of the Cat’s Eye are so complex that astronomers suspect the bright central object may be a binary star system—a bipolar geometry produced by two stars surrounded by cocoons of gas blown off in the late stages of their stellar evolution. The stars that produced the Cat’s Eye Nebula, as a memory, were in the process of becoming two giant diamonds silently entangled in faraway skies. The black box is a metaphor to recall the seminal discussion of Erwin Schrödinger about the phenomenon of Quantum Entanglement (Verschränkung, in German) in the paper where he presents his imaginary experiment, ‘The Cat’s Paradox.’ The dimensions of the box and the proportions are references to multiples of the numbers 5 and 10 (with a hidden 7 as a multiplier): 5 represents the man, 10 represents the whole universe, and 7 represents the magical, supernatural aspect of the phenomenon of entanglement, which implies non-local connectedness. The Cat’s Eye Nebula is a reflection on the invisible bonds that link man and the universe. related publications

Owner of A Lonely Heart (2014)

Each screenshot in this work represents a decisive selection made by the scientist in the search for patterns matching their expectations. In the gallery, viewers could observe the lifespan of the embryo’s heart through the meta-perspective of the scientist-artist-apparatus relationship, from the first screenshot to the last. The sound accompanying the installation was derived via data sonification from the entire dataset, aiming to provide a poetic perception of the data recorded through the microelectrode array (MEA). This approach sought to connect scientific precision with artistic interpretation. The work was a collaboration with Dr. Huanqi Zhu, a specialist in quantitative analyses and predictions in physical systems. At the time, we collaborated in James Gimzewki’s lab at UCLA. My role in this project was to poetically interpret observations that might one day enable precise assertions about specific drugs capable of repairing a damaged human heart. This process encompassed the measurements, the search for patterns in the graphics, and the analysis of endless datasets.

Owner of A Lonely Heart was on show at the Art|Sci Gallery, CNSI, UCLA, Los Angeles, 2014. related publications

The Kiss (2014)

Couples are invited to perform a ‘nonlocal kiss,’ standing face-to-face on two separate silicon platforms where twelve piezo films are embedded. These films correspond to acupressure reflex points on the planar region of the foot associated with body organs linked to the experience of being in love—such as the eyes (near the toes), heart, liver, stomach, lungs (in the solar plexus region), and the lower pelvic organs. In the installation, subtle body vibrations are captured by the piezoelectric network and translated into visual interferences in the transparency of a live video projected onto a nearby wall. The transparency of the video is determined by the balance of the measurements: the more balanced the vibrations, the less transparent the image; the less balanced, the more transparent. When the measurements from both platforms align perfectly, a virtual kiss occurs in the projection. The imagery is captured by two USB webcams positioned on the shoulders of the interacting couple. A custom Processing code interlaces the video feeds, creating a composite image. Despite the performers not physically kissing, the projection creates the illusion of a kiss. The Kiss invites participants to reflect on quantum nonlocal connectedness—a property of a quantum mechanical system where the states of two or more objects remain intrinsically linked, even when the individual objects are spatially distant. The work was on show at UCLA Art|Sci Center Gallery, CNSI, 2014 and Continuum Festival, Recife, Brazil, 2014. related publications

Microselfies (2014)

Microselfies is an exercise in reflection on the creation of reality in the very moment of observation—in quantum mechanics, the collapse of the wave function. Playing with the possibility of having fragments of my face reflected on the surface of a measuring apparatus—a microelectrode—I produced a sequence of self-portrait photographs using an iPhone 5S. For my solo show at the Art|Sci Center Gallery, UCLA, a microelectrode was placed inside a petri dish in front of an LCD monitor displaying the sequence of photographs. This setup invited the audience to take their micro-selfies, exploring the subtleties of a fragmented reality emerging from the act of observation through a cross-scale performance. Microselfies was shown at UCLA Art|Sci Gallery, Los Angeles, 2014. related publications

NLAFF − Nonlocal Affectiveness (2014)

The installation invites participants to enter a suspended black cube, its interior illuminated by red light — a reference to the Ganzfeld technique traditionally used in parapsychology to test extrasensory perception (ESP). Inside the cube, participants face a USB camera and wear a pair of electrodes measuring galvanic skin response (GSR). They are invited to remotely interact with an audience outside the cube, who observe a live projection on the cube’s exterior face. This projection displays the interior camera feed overlaid with a particle cloud coded in Processing, dynamically responding to the GSR measurements. NLAFF − Nonlocal Affectiveness was on show at UCLA Art|Sci Gallery, Los Angeles, 2014. related publications