GMU:Winning natural habitats/Natalia Gay Pintado

Explorations of the Monad

The sensation of looking through a telescope into the vastness of the night might also be experienced under the light of the microscope. The microscope functions as a portal to the sub-universe of the micro, of organised forms hidden in the larger terms of "more complex" organisms or elements.

According to the philosopher Leibniz, everything that exists is derived from an initial indivisible substance called monad, which by its qualities lacks figure, extension, beginning or end. Constant contraction and collision of this substance or energy, reacting with each other, creates compound substances which are what we know as reality.

The book offers a magnified look at microscopic life, revealing a hidden world and inviting to reflect on the complexity of life at its tiniest level. Through structures found under the microscope, the idea of monad is explored by speculating on its shape, texture and colours. The images were taken with the aid of the microscope and extracted from samples of different water found in Weimar including ponds around Ilm park and hidden fountains.

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Ideas

The feeling of looking through a telescope into the vastness of the night is also found in the microscope. This device acts as a portal to the sub-universe of the micro, revealing organised and hidden forms within more complex organisms. Indeed, it is a gateway to the complexity of life, an adventure into understanding from the smallest.

This project traces a visual and conceptual journey through shapes, textures and colours observed through microscopes, with the intention of exploring the initial substance of matter. Under the microscope, a multitude of surprising microorganisms are hidden, as well as abstract shapes, colours and textures. On this journey, I try to forget the scientific use of the microscope and use it as a tool for creation, observing through it with the utmost sensitivity and a naive and inexperienced gaze. I do not photograph beings that I find, but forms and sensations that capture the attention of my eyes.

The monad, in cosmic philosophy, is the most basic and original unity from which all things originate. Philosophers like Leibniz adapted this concept to describe elementary and basic particles, the essence of the universe. According to the Pythagorean school, from the monad arises the Dada, and from it, numbers, points, lines, two- and three-dimensional entities, culminating in the four elements that constitute the world. From the Baroque to the present day, man has sought to be in tune with nature, a search for the divine in the natural. The sacred symmetry and geometry in these microscopic forms evoke the perfection and harmony inherent in the cosmos.

The images in this book not only document, but tell a story of their own, a story where science and art intertwine to reveal the poetry hidden in the structure of life. By transforming the invisible into the visible, this project invites a reflection on the beauty and complexity of the universe at its tiniest level. In this way, the tool allows a normalised approach to these beings. Once you understand that they exist, they become an object of study, and then a gaze without scruples about their size, without objectification, but poetisation of matter.

In the search for truth, terms such as monad, initial substance and pléroma become relevant. Observation of organisms might make you feel life and matter understood as fluid, constantly changing and expanding. This fluidity and lack of physical boundaries suggests a reality in balance between the perceptible and the imperceptible. Life is perceived as a constant flow of energy and matter in collision, continuously creating and multiplying. This idea is explored through the visualisation of microscopic beings, showing how we are all part of a great symbiotic web. The layers of the Earth, from its core to the atmosphere, are seen as a slow and steady explosion, splitting into ever lighter and more complex particles.

This book, composed of photographs taken through the microscope, offers a magnified look at microcosmic life, revealing a hidden world that shares space and existence with us. Through this exploration, a deeper understanding of the initial substance of matter and the universe is sought, highlighting the connection between the micro and the macro, and the fundamental unity of all existence.

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PREVIOUS THOUGHTS.

Water landscapes microscopic photography

The feeling of looking through a telescope into the vastness of the night is also found in the microscope.

The microscope functions as a portal to the sub-universe of the micro, of organised forms hidden in the larger terms of "more complex" organisms.  But in reality it is a portal to the complexity of life, a venture into understanding from the smallest.

Under the microscope hides a multitude of surprising micro-organisms, but also a multitude of abstract forms, colours and textures. In this project I try to forget the scientific use of the microscope and use it as a tool for creation,

looking through it with the greatest sensitivity and a naive and inexperienced eye. I don't photograph

beings that I find but forms and sensations that catch the attention of my eyes.

In this way, the tool allows a normalised approach to these beings. Once you understand that they exist,

they will become an object of study and then a look without scruple for their size,

without objectification but poetisation of the matter.

Images are created to tell stories

But we can make images have a memory of their own.

What happens when we use a scientific image and generate a narrative with them, a narrative in intimacy.

The scientific image becomes the poetic