Deep Time Sisyphus

Louise Mackenzie, 2018 Rock salt, xenon gas, glass, high-voltage transformer, midi-sprout, raspberry pi, plywood, audio Commissioned by the Society for Applied Microbiology in association with ASCUS Art & Science, Deep Time Sisyphus references themes identified by the artist whilst attending the 2017 SfAM conference at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead. Of particular resonance was a sense of time and scale in microbiological practices; ranging from work deep in the salt mines of Kilroot, Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland (unearthing centuries old archaea in the search for novel antibiotics) to cutting-edge plasma technology (eradicating microbes and microbial biofilms from food or wounds). In researching the work, Mackenzie said, “I was struck by the paradox of our efforts to discover new forms of microbial life on the one hand, whilst devising new means to kill them on the other. This I choose to represent through a work that aims to convey a sense of scale, time and an inherent struggle in our relationship to this lively material that is so intricately linked to our existence.” The artwork features rock salt sourced from the mines at Kilroot, plasma technology and sound. Archaea may be present within saline pockets in the rock, the plasma in the work signifies the termination of their existence. Through touching the salt and the plasma sphere, the audience can experience a response, indicating the liveliness of material. Electrical conductivity within the rock is transformed into a soundscape that references human breath through the theory, first postulated by author J. Nigro Sansonese, that the origin of the name Sisyphus is the onomatopoetic sound made by inhaling and exhaling through the nose. The repetitive “siss” “phus” sound is said to mirror the cyclic motion of the boulder that is rolled up the hill only to fall each time it nears the top, a metaphor for eternal human struggle.