“For humans identifying where one individual stops and another start is not generally something we think about. We are ecosystems, composed of – and decomposed by- an ecology of microbes”
“To this day, lichens confuse our concept of identity and force us to question where one organisms stop and another begins.”
“Organisms could not be understood in isolation.”
-By Merlin Sheldrake

The quotes above have inspired me to create an installation work where you can see a lichen growing out of a volcanic rock. The rock makes a shadow on the wall so the viewer will also see how the lichen grows out of the volcanic rock shadow. Extremophiles are organisms that can survive in extreme conditions, in this case lichen can live and grow on volcanic rock. It also shows us how lichens survive thanks to their symbiotic relationship between algae and fungi in extreme environments. The video also makes us think about the identity of organisms. How do we know when an organism stops and another begins? Lichens are a great example of union, they force us to comprehend that organisms cannot survive in isolation. We are all ecosystems trying to survive in an extreme world.

-I want to thank my microbiome for taking me this far in life.