M(y)Crobes, a project by The Cotard Syndicate (Neuroscientist Siddharth Ramakrishnan and Media Artists Stefani Bardin + Toby Heys ) explores our cohabitation with microbes that live within, on and around us. Bacteria communicate with and influence each other with recent evidence pointing toward a contiguous network of filaments allowing for long-range communication of bacteria that use human forms as hosts. They have developed a wearable biosensor for the neck or wrist comprised of a disk of agar that is laid into a 3D printed bezel of recyclable ABS plastic that is exposed to the elements. Seeds are implanted into the agar medium to track the microbial growth through the sprouting of these small plants. Thus, the wearer sees, in real time, the effects of their own biotic micro-ecosystem in concert with the macro-ecosystem of the environment.

We share our regular world with billions of bacteria and fungi, but are for the most part unaware of how they shape our world, unless we get sick. The project aims to bring these organisms to the forefront by culturing them, allowing us to see how they directly impact a living being like a small plant, while also showcasing the variety of microbial cultures that we may encounter/host in our everyday wandering. These cultured microbes will actively affect the growth of seedlings placed in the agar-wearable, thereby allowing us to observe how these ubiquitous life forms actively affect life and growth by altering environments