In this land of ice and snow, summer is something magical. Almost in the blink of an eye, the world becomes lush and green and you can finally feel your toes! As the snow retreats, 10,000 lakes suddenly appear, offering respite from the humidity of the summer heat. But warmer weather brings another, less pleasant transformation: overnight, blue-green algae can turn Minnesota lakes into toxic ponds of scum.
“Algae” is a generic term for a diverse array of single- and multi-celled aquatic organisms that are among the planet’s oldest life forms. The common thread is their photosynthetic ability—they harvest their energy from carbon dioxide and, like plants, exhale oxygen. In fact, they produce 75 percent of the oxygen in our atmosphere. According to current scientific research, this multifaceted organism might be the future solution to our climate crisis.
For an organism that plays such a critical role in our ecosystem, algae certainly have a PR problem. So how can we rebuild our relationship with the organism that is essentially responsible for our existence?
Artist Alison Hiltner suggests that when we establish a personal connection with organisms, we shift our perspective. Hiltner sees herself as an archaeologist of science fiction, exploring the media landscape of films, television, and video games and intertwining these themes with contemporary scientific inquiry. Throughout her work runs a fascination with how science fiction influences our current understanding of scientific research, and how that filter of knowledge will affect technological advancement in the future. Her excavations into popular culture and science result in immersive sculptural installations that confront the viewer with something that appears alien yet undeniably familiar.
I first encountered Hiltner in 2015 when she unsuccessfully applied for the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP), the 42-year-old partnership between Mia and the local artistic community. It works like this: A panel of seven artists (known as “The Panel”) selects artists and collectives from Minnesota to exhibit at Mia based on their proposals. As the MAEP Coordinator, I worked with Hiltner for three months to develop a new proposal, ensuring it met Mia’s guidelines and resolved questions posed by the Panel. That concept is now “It Is Yesterday,” an installation currently on view in Mia’s U.S. Bank Gallery.
Alison Hiltner prepping algae while installing “It is Yesterday” at Mia.
The exhibition explores the symbiosis between algae (spirulina, in this case, which is a cynobacteria) and humans. Equal parts experimental laboratory and mechanized environment, it immerses the audience in a landscape influenced by science fiction yet populated by real organisms, blurring fact and fiction. It took three weeks, more than 20 people, and approximately 150 gallons of water to install.
As a viewer, you are encouraged to walk through the forest of algae and even communicate with these alien-like organisms. You can blow into a mechanism housing a sensor, which relays information to micro-computers mounted on the wall. By blowing carbon dioxide onto the sensor, your breath creates a chain reaction that in turn causes the algae to percolate and grow. The projection in the first room visualizes the data collected by the micro-computers, also known as Arduinos. The more the algae percolate and bubble, the more oxygen the algae produce. By forging this personal connection to algae growth, Hiltner provides us with an intimate approach to climate issues.
The title, “It Is Yesterday,” alludes to Hiltner’s interest in scales of time. As time progresses, the 52 algae-laden sacks will shift as the algae react to their micro-environs. The sacks will inflate and deflate as the algae produce oxygen. As the population of the single-celled organisms explodes the darker blue-green the vinyl sacks appear— turning into shades of black and blue. The algae will climb the sides of the bag as the micro-environment within becomes humid, and precipitation coalesces above the water surface. As the populations begin to die, the bodies collect at the bottom, and the water transforms into a putrid brown color. The installation is never still.
This exhibition is part of the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program, now located in Mia’s U.S. Bank Gallery.
Artist talk: Thursday, May 18, 7 p.m. Alison Hiltner discusses “It is Yesterday” in the U.S. Bank Gallery in conjunction with Mia’s Third Thursday event.