The Silent Scream of Cells

Marianne Lechner (AT), Katharina Mayrhofer (AT), Daniel García González (ES), Clara Gómez Cruz (ES), Miguel Fernández de la Torre (ES)

Marianne Lechner is a designer and researcher working at the intersection of art, design, society and emerging technologies. Katharina Mayrhofer works at the interface of code and design. She has experience in the field of interactive spatial installations, generative real-time graphics, and data-based visualisations. Daniel García González, Clara Gómez Cruz and Miguel Fernández de la Torre are scientists working on Mechanobiology and biomechanics of active biological materials.

How do mechanical and magnetic forces affect brain cells? How do structure and communication change under stress? This installation translates the sensitive interplay of these forces into a dynamic, interactive sculpture. Diverse cell-actants move, respond to visitors, and generate fluctuating light patterns. Communication and overstimulation turn visible, leading to enforced stillness. The fragile choreography of neuronal processes becomes a sensory experience.

This artwork is part of the SciArt project ASTER+S, organised by Rocío García Robles (University of Seville, https://www.us.es/) in collaboration with Marianne Lechner and Barbara Rechbach (University of Arts Linz, Department of Visual Communication). ASTER+S explores the intersections of neuroscience, emotional health, augmented brain, and collective well-being in a world shaped by climate crisis, fragile democracies, and other urgencies. International artists and students collaborated with neuroscientists to develop artistic responses to scientific research. 

https://ars.electronica.art/panic/en/view/asters-art-neuroscience-20c38ddb450c81f0a20ee296904523e1
https://aster.us.es/alleditions/en/

Related Projects