in vitero

PICA Day 23: Physarum polycephalum

Starting to get manky. Very excited! Smells sweet. It is so spectacular. Fascinated that it is only growing up the room side of the vessel not the wall side. Need to feed tomorrow.

PICA Day 9: Physarum polycephalum

so beautiful

PICA Day 7

In at PICA for a couple of hours while rehearsals for the Pilar & Tarryn opening were on… cheerleaders and an aerial acrobat - very cool!

Fed Hydra with brine shrimp from Friday (still alive) & Daphnia with algae. Physarum didnt need food, growing well.

Physarum

The Homo sapiens vessel looks great in the gallery. The emptiness sits as both potential and absence.

Also finished the frame for the Candida box after a lovely brunch with Jane - so happy!

very happy with the joints

crazy day tomorrow! off to bed

PICA Day 5

long day teaching at SymbioticA and get to PICA & the paint fumes from the new big PICA show install were terrible. I fed the Hydra & Daphnia. I hope the fumes dont affect the Daphnia - they are sensitive little critters.

Hydra

Daphnia

Physarum

Megs and I left to escape and bought a kettle for the show. We meet Tiff, Daz and Ceri for dinner at Viet Hoa and then off to bed. I couldnt get on-line on Friday night so am writing this on Sunday night.

PICA Day 4

Photos courtesy Megan Schlipalius

Just a quikki tonight as it has been a long day and another tomorrow.

Finished the label holders & handles on the tables. Cocked the first one up of course. put them on upside down! managed to salvage it and the others look supa. successfully ambiguous museum/domestic.

Spent morning getting Daphnia, Hydra & Physarum ready to take to the gallery. subcultured the Physarum into the water agar vessel and fed with oat flakes. Already started moving towards food by the time I got to the gallery. Transferred 5 Daphnia to their vessel and fed. was lovely to sit on the couch later in the afternoon and watch them do their larva lamp thing.

wow trippy - watching the first episode of Star Trek Deep Space Nine and there is a shot of “Dax” getting “impregnated” with her symbiont - everything is luscious red - gloves, coats, sheets - her response to receiving the symbiont is quite erotic.

So back to real life - Hydra dont seem to be thriving. Am wondering if it is the culture media I made - it may be different from the Southern Biological media supplied with the original specimens. Need to find out what is in theirs.

Great to have Oron Catts, Loren Kronemyer & Amy Congdon visit and appreciated their generous comments and support.

Planning to bring Arabidopsis & Drosophila in tomorrow; Candida, C. elegans & Neurospora on Monday.

Skyped with Sue & the twins in the gallery. Technology is amazing. Feels like home now.

Thanks to Megs for her patience with my 5pm energy crash. Bad time for decision making.

PICA Day 3

The room is so lovely with the window panels down. Love the natural light.

Spent the morning pouring blood and water agar into the vessels. One step closer… Got new Daphnia from Shian. She said they sometimes crash for no apparent reason, including if there are no adults. Since I only had a few juveniles, I guess that is what happened. Fed them with 4ml algae.

Email from John at SABC about the nematode plate I left at Murdoch. He was excited about at least one live nematode he found on the plate. I need to ask him about the contamination on my plates and start a liquid culture. I prepared 2.5L of luria broth in preparation for a large culture of E. coli to feed the liquid culture of C. elegans. I may need to get the seed nematodes from John as mine aren’t happy.

Brought the Homo sapiens vessel into the gallery. Will bring several more tomorrow.

Ionat & Oron are coming for a squiz tomorrow. Wanted to have the Candida box frame finished but the glue is too stinky. Will finish on the weekend. Will have the labels and handles onto the tables by then though. Will also bring Daphnia, Drosophila, Physarum, Hydra & Arabidopsis in tomorrow.

Spill Hazard Kit almost finished - need hand disinfectant and am waiting on the First Aid Kit.

Spent an hour with Megan just sitting on the couches talking about possible layouts, but lovely to just sit with rosehip tea and baklava. Thanks Megs