Abstract, colourful,
psychedelic, these works
are the result of age
and microbiology, slides
devoured by bacteria.
Their story begins here,
in the largest scientific
laboratory in the world,
where 450'000 photographic
clichés are stored.
CERN decided to
digitalise them in 2016.
We came across an old piece of furniture
containing well-preserved
slides.
On top of the furniture, there
were mouldy drawers,
destined for the dump.
Slides taken at the end of
1980 during the building
of the particle accelerator, a machine
that works with infinitely small things.
I found it amusing that at CERN
where we observe molecules
at 10 to the power of minus 18,
we had organisms
of 10 to the power of minus 4 cm
which had eaten our heritage.
M.Volpi, physicist-photographer,
and J.Y Le Meur
decided to make works
of art using subligraphy.
We have ink
that is like wax,
on which we put an aluminium
plate and warm it up
to vaporise it in the
superficial layers of the metal.
The chemical process
is sublimation.
The graphic process
is subligraphy.
It's explosive!
The exhibition, "Breaking the Mould"
is about immortalising the ephemeral
or breaking the mould of certainties
by innovating.
These works illustrate the
symbiosis of science and art.
