Ode (2026) imagines urban ponds as spaceships undertaking a mission that, concealed by their apparent stillness, remains enigmatic to humans. Interconnected elements, inspired by the anatomy of pond organisms, shape a contemplative microcosmos. By combining bioinformatics with living samples from Berlin urban ponds, music, sculptural glass bioreactors, garments, and sound objects, the artwork summons the liveliness of the spaceships.

I envisioned the spaceship concept during fieldwork with POUNDER researchers, who sample pond waters to extract genetic data of bacteria inhabiting them (also known as environmental DNA metabarcoding). Ode manifests actual genetic material and datasets from Berlin ponds as a multidimensional repository of ecological relationships and (im)possible adaptations to contaminants.

A suspended sound sculpture gives voice to bacterial networks through recordings created by singer Dorian Wood for specific bacteria. The voices overlap, dance, and eclipse in a choral piece thanks to a custom AI system that links bacterial genetic data to known pollutants. A custom vision system which I created harnessing the glass walls of the bioreactors allows the audience to see water water plants, snail, and small crustaceans like Daphina as they inhabit the water samples.

There is a tender for the spaceship. On the opening night, the tender invites audiences aboard the spaceship with a live performance. After the performance, the scupltural, pond like garment remains on view while the spaceship continues its mission.

Ode belongs to untaming death, my series exploring more-than-human perspectives on death and ecological change.