Portfolio

Microbial Mindscapes is an interactive audiovisual installation and performance exploring the impact of the human gut microbiota on emotions. Inspired by the artist’s struggles with panic disorder and depression, this project merges biophysics, gastroenterology, microbiome research, microbiology, pharmacology, and AI. Using scientific discoveries on molecular interactions and microscopic techniques, it links gut microbiota with mental health and cognitive functions, highlighting the influence of lifestyle on well-being. The project explores philosophical and scientific correlations between humans and microbes, prompting a reevaluation of consciousness and self-identity. Through an immersive visual and auditory experience, the project encourages reflection on the interplay between art, science and human emotion. It broadens understanding of mental and physical health, emphasizing gut microbiota’s role in shaping our emotional and cognitive states and advocating for a holistic approach to health.

Plastiglomerates are geological formations where plastic, rock, and organic matter fuse along coastlines, forming a new type of human imprint in the geological record. PlaSphere takes this fusion as both subject and compositional method, building sound and image through analogous processes of fragmentation and resynthesis. The work draws on field recordings collected on remote coastal islands as part of an earlier research project (Neural Tides, 2024). These sounds are fragmented, reorganized through neural networks, and spectrally fused into hybrid textures distributed across a multichannel array. In parallel, photographs of plastiglomerates collected on-site are used to train a custom LoRA model that generates photorealistic animations of speculative lifeforms— organisms modeled on species indigenous to the islands, such as crabs, urchins, and snails, whose bodies are composed of plastiglomerate material. These creatures are presented as holograms in wooden boxes distributed throughout the installation.

<Neural Tides> is a multi-granular synthesizer that uses an artificial neural network trained with sound samples from the coastal areas of isolated islands—Hakrim-do and Ulleung-do—in South Korea. These islands have been mapped as sound particles within a latent space, enabling users to freely explore and listen to their coastal environments. The synthesis process mimics the natural degradation of styrofoam, blending nature with artificial elements to reflect the integration of marine debris into the natural world. We employed granular synthesis to illustrate how plastic breaks into small pieces by waves and wind, merging with natural materials on the coast.

This process mirrors granular synthesis, where sound is divided into particles and new sounds are created by adjusting grain size. The instrument is designed for precise manipulation, allowing users to navigate the latent space and select sound particles. The custom interface is user-friendly, featuring six knobs, a motion sensor, and a touchpad for easy control, enabling users to navigate sound sources, adjust time segmentation, and add effects. The instrument’s case has been 3D printed with algae-based filament, making it biodegradable. <Neural Tides> transforms the visual experience of the sea into an auditory one. Our aim is to promote environmental awareness in a lighthearted way with this playful instrument while also sharing and connecting our ideas with others.

“95% Happiness” is an art project that explores the relationship between the gut microbiome, emotions, and mood, and uses the artist’s personal experiences to create a physical representation of happiness. The inspiration for this project came from the knowledge that certain gut bacteria are involved in cognitive and social functions, such as depression, autism, and schizophrenia. Some gut bacteria can produce neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which affect our mood. According to research, 95% of the body’s serotonin is produced in the gastrointestinal tract, which is why the gut is often referred to as “the second brain.” The artist has a personal connection to this topic, as she has been diagnosed with panic disorder and depression, and her health has deteriorated over the last three years due to irregular eating habits, a monotonous diet, and frequent moves between countries.

Over the past two years, she has been working to improve her health and has been monitoring her gut microbiome status under various residential and dietary conditions. To her surprise, her data showed that her gut microbiome gradually became more balanced and diverse as she recovered from her psychiatric symptoms. In this work, the artist demonstrates the interplay between gut bacteria, personal emotions, and mood by analyzing her medical records and gut microbiome samples from Germany, South Korea, and the United States. She collected samples when she was in her healthiest state and cultivated the Bacteroidetes cluster in her gut microbiome, which is known for producing serotonin and promoting feelings of contentment, satisfaction, and emotional stability.

Through her two-year collaboration with Dr. Park, the artist aims to represent her happiness in a bottle, calling it her “95% of happiness,” thus turning the abstract concept of happiness into a tangible form and sensory experience.

Parasitic Signals is a series of works exploring interspecies relationships, with a particular focus on parasitism and mutualism. These works provide immersive experiences that challenge traditional perceptions and foster new understandings of coexistence between humans and other biological entities. In an innovative collaboration with biophysicists at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria, artist Sabina Hyoju Ahn employs Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to measure the interactions (forces) between humans and pathogens (Borrelia bacteria and the SARS-CoV-2 virus) at a molecular level. She then transforms this numerical data into immersive audio-visual experiences.

kHz is to explore the relationship between life and sound and explain how sound waves affect the microorganisms’ environment. I use inaudible frequency as a physical phenomenon rather than an audible frequency. In this work, bioluminescent algae, “P.fusiformis” visualize frequencies higher than 28kHz that cannot be perceived by human ears. When the frequency of inaudible sound penetrates through the bioluminescent algae, each cell visualizes the inaudible sound by glowing themselves. At the same time, the moment of shining also means the death of the cells. Because the ultrasonic waves travel through the water which contains the plankton and the frequency works like a sonic weapon, easily breaking the cells.

DIY Bionoise (2018) is an instrument in which the performer can generate sound and control noise, deriving from their own body. The instrument DIY Bionoise contains a circuit that can measure the bioelectricity from living beings to create bionoise which can be controlled by tactile sense (fingers). As a result, this instrument has two functions; a modular synthesizer with an eight-step sequencer and a bionoise controlled mode. DIY Bionoise is developed from my previous work “Sonomatter” which explored the transformation of bioelectrical energy from soil bacteria to sound. Its design has been based on electronic music devices like modular synthesisers and step sequencers as well as devices emerging from the DIY culture. The instrument can easily be customised by changing electronic parts with different values such as capacitors and sensors. And it creates systems to a musical instrument and adding a tactile element to interact with bioelectricity from the human body.

Sonomatter (2017) is a sound installation and performance that transforms the bioelectrical signal from microorganisms to sound. The work starts with building a Winogradsky Column, making a small ecosystem with mud and water -- generating the electric signal with a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC), and measuring voltage from microorganisms that are formed in mud. As time proceeds, the microbes will create electricity and eventually die when they lack nutrients. The designed “Bioelectricity- Controlled-Oscillator” circuit consumes the (bioelectrical) energy to control the sound of the oscillator. This process illustrates a circular relationship between life and death, as life and death share the same material (mud). Interaction between organic matter and natural phenomena -- such as soil, water, respiration and oxidation, symbiotic relationship in a microcosm -- imply poetics in the microbial sphere. The project is thus not only a metaphorical exploration of the interaction between living matter and natural phenomena, but it also explores the domain of energy harvesting and generating clean energy. The audience is invited to experience the sound from real-time microbial data with handmade “Bioelectricity-controlledoscillator” circuits.

Breath is an interactive light and sound installation/performance, operated by human breath. As a wind instrument, this work has been developed to control sound and light with human breathing, made of DIY circuits and e-wastes. Breath uses amorphous energy from the human body and transforms it into different shapes: breathe to light and sound, vitalising an inorganic object. Human respiration is visualised by dimming bulbs, activates the machine and involves functioning. The piece has been made of electronic junks such as old telephone’s microphone and old PC’s metal frame to illustrate new life from the dead devices and to allude a transformable relationship between human and machine.