Conceived by TakT in Paris, during the French quarantine (beginning on March 17th 2020), MICRO- RESIDENCE QUARANTINE is both a remembrance and a reflective healing art piece. By freely walking outside of the building and watching the world of the infectious agents confined inside as a TV show, this installation allows its audience to experiment and enjoy a reverse of the global wide pandemic . The act of re-creating the quarantine situation by changing the point of view and balance of power can renew the perception of this anxiogenic period and put it in perspective.

Micro Residence Quarantine is an invitation to give visibility to the microscopic forms of life that we don’t tend to acknowledge despite their direct impact on our lives. This art installation explores the isolation, fragility and response of the world to this pandemic and reflects the new “Technopological” age of the 21st century. It is the first time in human history where people around the world are constantly online, uploading their own lives as a reality TV show and trying to connect with as many strangers as possible.

SCIENTIFIC INTEREST

The interdisciplinary art project MICRO-RESIDENCE QUARANTINE is an imaginary form of sociological and psychological experimentation through the mixing of natural sciences and artistic expressions. In reality TV, one can observe the sociological and psychological composition of the modern culture. They reflect social norms and ideologies through the structure of a group evolving under constraints. These shows also push the boundary of what’s morally justified which tends to be the underlying basis of either the plot, conflict or results of the show.

This Science Art project is a transposition of such a codified system to the microscopic world. By showing different patterns of social behaviors and their psychological effects on the individuals and the group: coalition, support, exclusion, assistance, treason, competition, fighting, mating, etc. we aim to forge a fake sociology of infectious agents through our reality TV show.

The infectious agents are humanized in part thanks to the civilized environment of the building in which they are hosted. The humanization also comes from the fake reality show which will ascribe motives to their actions through narration and montage choice. In Reality TV, there is an inherent basis of competition and the constant questioning and pushing of moral boundaries to achieve the goal of “winning”. The different behavioral results of the infectious agents experiencing quarantine highlight the gap between the confined life conditions of people.

Forced confinement is a physical and psychological burden that has been shared by countless of individuals across the world. It will leave its trace in people’s memory all around the globe and could potentially reshape the future of mankind. By reversing the perspectives from subject to observer, the audience can help process the psychological toll of the pandemic and the ensuing isolationism.

The psychological toll of isolationism is one of great power, it is even considered a form of torture. In the book 1984, Orwell shows not only the mental toll it can have but also how it can break down the fabric of entire societies. Through a scientific lens, the MICRO-RESIDENCE QUARANTINE attempts to bring to light a pondering and reflection of isolationism in a manner that is positive and potentially healing.

THE REALITY SHOW

Micro Residence Quarantine is a transposition of the infectious agent to the worldwide phenomenon of reality TV. The fake reality show following the quarantine life of the infectious agents will be displayed on a big screen next to the installation piece. It will be an artistic montage of videos done by TakT showing the actions of the bacteria which was taken during a TakT art residency at TisBIO Laboratory.

The reality television show looks at the life of these isolated participants confined in the close space of the microscopic world. It pays homage to the structure of traditional mainstream reality TV through the prism of TakT’s own artistic expression.

This pastiche will use footage of the active infectious agents inside our quarantine with visible actions interspersed by 3D animations of the logo and visual effects. TakT also used Artificial Intelligence to help seperate the bacteria from each other for human view. The sound landscape of the video will also mimic reality shows thanks to the music and narration. Many of the sounds were recorded at the TIS Bio Science Labs by sampling the sounds of the microscopic equipment. After the hosts of the building were chosen, it was also necessary to use a video microscope to take footage of their life to incorporate it in the . The fake reality show is short so that the visitors of the exhibition can see it whole while also circulating around the building in the room.

Micro Residence Quarantine Installation

For the final exhibition, a projection of the video on a big screen next to the building of the Micro-Residence Quarantine will give visibility to the microscopic agents and contrast size perceptions with the scale of the building.