Antoine Bertin – Conversation métabolite

Coccolitophores are nano-planktonic plants; a single drop of ocean contains thousands of these organisms that are invisible to our senses. And yet, by harvesting sunlight, phytoplankton produce 60% of the oxygen we breathe, even more than terrestrial forests.
In this installation, the artist Antoine Bertin is particularly interested in the semiochemical study of plankton, i.e. their language. Throughout their bloom, which can last several weeks, coccolitophores exchange chemical words called “metabolites”. The artist followed scientists studying coccolithophores during an expedition to South America. The concentrations of metabolites measured during the expedition are translated into sound to allow visitors to immerse themselves in the conversations of a form of aquatic and plant intelligence.