The Project
The ocean teems with tiny organisms known as plankton, drifting through the vast waters and often escaping the naked eye. Within this microscopic realm lies a stunning diversity of shapes and ecological roles. These organisms are vital to the health of our oceans, serving as foundational elements of the marine ecosystem and supporting the entire food chain.
Rhizaria, extraordinary creatures
Among planktonic organisms, Rhizaria are particularly fascinating, an amazing group of single-cell organisms, sometimes forming colonies that inhabit the ocean from its surface to its depths. Some Rhizaria can build remarkably intricate glassy structures (made of silica), only truly appreciated under a microscope. These extraordinary organisms have captivated scientists for centuries. In the 19th century, German scientist and artist Ernst Haeckel immortalized their complexity and elegance with exquisite detail. For those without Haeckel’s artistic prowess, techniques like cyanotype photography offer a way to capture the beauty and the complexity of their silicified forms.
Cyanotypes, the process
Pioneered by English botanist Anna Atkins, the first illustrated book titled ‘Photographs of British Algae’, was created using this photographic method. Cyanotype uses light exposure and a chemical process to create detailed blueprints of different species. This technique beautifully merges art and science.
Ocean in Cyan
This series of illustrations serves as a reminder of the ocean’s incredibly diversity, its fragility and the countless wonders that remain to be discovered. Each cell was meticulously isolated from plankton samples collected in the Atlantic Ocean, cleaned, and then photographed using a scanning electron microscope.
