Hüseyin Mert Erverdi
“From so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”
― Charles Darwin, the Origin of Species
“Variations on a Theme” is a single-channel, endless video loop which consists of nearly 700 unique images obtained from hundreds of different samples from prokaryotic cells of bacteria like bacillus (Genus) and spirillum (Genus) to numerous eukaryotic tissues (connective, muscle, nervous, epithelial, epidermis, ground, vascular along with others) of various animals, plants and fungi. Each specimen is carefully photographed under a microscope via dark field illumination. Dark field is a specialized illumination technique in which specimens will be illuminated from the side and will scatter some of the light to enter the objective thus the specimen will appear bright on dark background.
According to the theory of universal common descent, all organisms on the planet have evolved out from a single common ancestor. Thus all known forms of life are based on the same fundamental biochemical organization, from bacteria to animals and plants. “Variations on a Theme” uses rapidly evolving and perpetually forming visuals of cellular organic forms by utilizing the fast-cutting technique, which creates an aesthetic expression of different life forms blending into each other figuratively and literally, thus visualizes an established scientific theoretical perspective into an authentic artistic expression as these organic forms are already strongly intertwined on theoretical level.
Presently there is an ongoing cultural convergence of art, science, and technology, in which artists and scientists find ample chance to examine how these various areas influence one another. Artists increasingly transforms the area specific scientific data into aesthetic expression in some form or another thus in a way, encourage society to see the world in a new light with a deeper appreciation and a new understanding. “Variations on a Theme” is a project which aims to take a small step towards this goal.