Quantum Record - Contact with the Other: Initialising a Chiral Handshake between Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Microorganisms

How might we establish contact with extraterrestrial microorganisms? The BioQuantum Record is a speculative artistic project that reimagines communication beyond human-centric concepts of intelligence.

Terrestrial life is homochiral: proteins are composed of left-handed amino acids, and right-handed sugars are metabolised. Based on the premise that microbial collectives are the most probable form of extraterrestrial life we may encounter, the project explores the hypothesis of mirror life—where extraterrestrial organisms may possess opposite chirality in their biomolecules compared to life on Earth. Chirality might provide the key to initiating a molecular dialogue.

The BioQuantum Record serves as a speculative prototype housing extremophiles from the archaeal domain. Metallosphaera sedula is a tough organism, occupying hot, acidic, metal-rich environments. It can be cultured on meteorite breccia and Mars regolith, even adapting to heavy minerals like titanium and surviving when dried.

As a transdisciplinary project, I'm collaborating with two institutions: the CNRS-CBM (Centre Biophysique Moléculaire) and ESAD (École Supérieure d'Art et de Design) Orléans.

As the first artist in residence at LE STUDIUM, I will invite my scientific collaborators—Sebastian Gfellner from the Exobiology team, and Carlo Pifferi from the Protein team at CBM—to discuss the challenges and potential of artistic-scientific collaboration.

The talk will present the project's process—from concept development, laboratory exchange, and artistic translation, to experimentation with materials in the ESAD workshops, culminating in the realisation of exhibits and the exhibition concept.

Speaker

Anna Steward

LE STUDIUM Arts-Sciences  Fellow 

FROM: Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg - DE 
IN RESIDENCE AT: École supérieure d'art et de design d'Orléans (ESAD Orléans) & Centre for Molecular Biophysics (CBM) /CNRS - FR