Relationships between humans and nonhuman species can be traced to the Stone Age. Some species were domesticated and loved by humans and became part of culture, while some were excluded from humankind’s cultural activities. It’s difficult for us to establish straightforward interaction and understanding of microorganisms due to their small scales. However, what perspective will be developed if we explore interspecies relationships with microorganisms? Could the miniature Other reflect our cultures, consciousness, emotions, and thoughts as a mirror and further encourage us to reexamine our connections with nonhuman animals? 

This project will collaborate with scientists to collect microorganisms from surrounding waters in our lives as a basis for developing narrative videos, sculptures, and installations in an attempt to provoke viewers’ emotional resonances. The projection system set in the installation will return moving images back to photosynthetic microorganisms, not only serving as a medium for films but also providing energy for microorganisms to photosynthesize as an emblem of the symbiotic relationship between culture and nature in the same system. 

In the microscopic theater, the microorganisms under the microscope are personified and presented as characters in situation comedies, which raise issues of species differences, care for life, and emotional expression in contemporary context through absurd and affecting plots. 

Besides, the project will delve deeply into the characters and imaginations of nonhuman animals in human cultures through workshops, courses, creative exchanges, and field investigations to contemplate how the power structure constructed in the digital era impacts the existence and representation of animals. Finally, the imaginations will be transformed into a microbial essay film attached to the installation. Audiences are invited to enter the projected theater to join in the screenings and exhibition, rethinking the possibilities of coexistence with nonhuman beings.