“On Mixing Bodies” is a collection of photos meant to mimic a scientific research study on two fluid bodies and how they interact with each other. The title is a reference to Aristotle’s, “On Floating Bodies”, as if to suggest that this experiment has uncovered a grand discovery for the human race. The fluid figures are meant to represent other sentient beings and draw connections to diverse relationships through the cycle of life. As the fluid bodies evolve from their embryotic state and wither out into barely visible particles we observe their natural tendency to project themselves onto other nearby beings, eventually merging into a unified affair.
The fluid bodies were created using food coloring, oil, and water. In the early development pictures oil drops were placed into the water to act as a temporary container for the food coloring droplets, which kept them spherical. As the oil dissolved in the water, the food coloring burst out and expanded into circular shapes, eventually expanding into stringy bodies. A petri dish was used to hold the experiment and to create the microscopic illusion. A very fast shutter speed was also used to capture the rapidly progressing fluidic patterns.
