artist reimagines the human microbiome as an intricately cut paper coral reef

using the visual metaphor of a coral reef, artist rogan brown draws inspiration from the microscopic organisms living inside our bodies. detailing diverse bacteria, archaea, and fungi he creates intricately cut paper-based sculptures hoping to connect the two worlds.

images courtesy of rogan brown

the detailed works are created following months of research, in which brown hunts for aesthetic parallels between the various microorganisms and organic formations such as cell structures, microbes, shells and fossils. in his latest exhibit, brown’s work features a sea of pastel-colored, layered paper cut-outs in the shape of bacteria, composed in a way that details underwater ecosystems like stony corals, sea anemones and tiny marine species.

‘what the reef and the microbiome have in common is that they both consist of biodiverse colonies of organisms that coexist more or less harmoniously‘, brown explains. ‘there are further parallels between coral and human beings in that we are both symbiont organisms, that is we depend on a mutually beneficial relationship with another species: coral only receive their beautiful colors from varieties of algae that live on them and human beings can only exist thanks to the unimaginably huge and diverse number of bacteria that live in and on them.’

the magical circle variations series is on show at the C fine art gallery from july 5-8, 2018. brown’s work is also detailed on his website.