Plankton Performance

In this improvised collaboration between artist Jess Holz and composer Senem Pirler, the stars of the show are not human performers, but plankton — lively microorganisms collected from the Charles River and Boston Harbor. Under an advanced Leica DMRB microscope, their movements are captured and projected in real time using a unique time-lapse exposure technique. Projected on the Exchange screen, the agency of these tiny aquatic creatures is highlighted: their movements etched into time through long-exposure time lapse, revealing intricate trails—like brushstrokes in motion—that accumulate and evolve as they swim.

The movements of plankton are used as a graphic score by composer and sonic improviser, Senem Pirler, who responds in real-time to the rhythms, textures and the motion of the plankton. In this multispecies collaboration, Holz and Pirler aim to highlight how plankton reveal themselves and how their movement can inform our decision-making through an improvised performance.

The result is what Holz calls Plankton Painting: an audiovisual canvas a millimeter wide created by multitudes of tiny organisms. Rather than presenting plankton as specimens, Plankton Performance elevates them as co-creators—revealing the dynamic, searching behaviors of these microscopic creatures, while also highlighting their relationship with their human collaborators. Plankton are foundational to Earth’s ecosystems and among the most abundant forms of life on the planet, yet are invisible to the unaided eye. Their movement capacity can guide us through the unknown and motivate us to embrace unpredictability.