Microbiome II Floor Lamp in Bio Plastic
by Sabrina Merayo Nuñez · New York, United States

Sabrina Merayo Nunez is an Argentinian multidisciplinary artist based in NYC. Her eclectic background includes in bio-art, biomaterials, sculpture and history of design. Rather than using petroleum based resin, Sabrina developed a collagen based bioplastic that is biodegradable and speaks back to the mediation of matter. The amber colored bioplastic is embellished and implanted with a variety of lenses, crystals, chips of bark, electronic sensors, and furniture pieces, much like the petrified tree resin that preserved biological artifacts from the Neolithic period. The surface’s intricate networks of roots, veins, and wires highlight how entangled the routes of nature and technology are and how each has influenced and been influenced by mankind.Sympoietic, her series of interactive light sculptures is activated through electronic sensors as visitors move through the space. Depending on how they are approached, they may light up, go dim, or pulse as if their hearts were beating. This animated response conjures up a living presence that seemingly acknowledges the act of being seen.Sabrina Merayo Nunez is interested in examining and bringing together three axes in her work: the processes of nature, human capacity to control them, and the technology that have emerged as intermediaries between them. Tools such as lenses, machines, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence, not only allow us to expand our senses and capacities of understanding, but modify the world we live in. Sabrina views these technologies as extensions of our perception, challenging us to consider the materiality of our own physicality. She has worked in laboratories where art and science work together, exploring growth and decay, the transformation of matter into data, and all the nuances inherent in translation.