Bio Ink, the latest experiment in the Future Ink collaborative research project, combines Wacom’s digital pen and tablet technology with Ars Electronica Futurlab’s biotechnology to explore nature, life on our planet, and the microcosm of this world. As part of the 2021 Ars Electronica Festival and the “Alchemists of the Future” exhibition, visitors to the Bio Lab at the Ars Electronica Center were able to experience living ink and see for themselves how microorganisms create artistic messages, in combination with a digital pen and tablet. Under the heading “Dear Future Me,” workshop participants left a message for their future selves in living ink. The Bio Ink artworks were created in a petri dish – in a collaborative process with microorganisms, which thus open a creative dialogue with humans. The slow process with nature influences our perception of the world and makes us think about what it means to be alive.
Research into the possibilities of artistic collaboration with microscopic organisms and living ink is currently being developed further in the Lab. Parameters captured during drawing, such as pen speed, pen pressure and slope, are now being converted into biological dimensions, such as temperature, humidity and biochemical reactions, to interact with the living artworks as they grow. In a chemical reaction chamber, the research team can thus interact with the living artwork in an automated or manual way.
