Cryptographic Beings Artwork

Cryptographic Beings Artwork
by Michael Sedbon

• Awarded April 15, 2023
• CLIENT: Michael Sedbon
• 23.184

Cryptographic Beings is an art installation that stores digital data in living algae. The work consists of thirty vegetal bits, each one a glass vessel holding filamentous algae. Photosynthesis produces gas vesicles, so the algae float in light and sink in darkness. Each floating or sinking state represents a digital zero or one, and the installation can store a five letter word. Motorized robotic arms control the light reaching every vessel, and a custom colour sensor reads each state. The machine runs autonomously for months during an exhibition.