Cultivating Light: For Tom and Others, 1991






Viewers entered a darkened greenhouse attached to the inside of a large (blacked out) window and were encouraged (via text on the wall outside) to shake the bulb-shaped flasks to stimulate the algae to produce light. This piece was dedicated to a friend who died of AIDS and to others who were suffering and dying at that time. Steel, glass, cement blocks, marble library table, glass flasks containing bioluminescent microalgae; 10' x 7' x 5,' Chicago Cultural Center.
© A. Laurie Palmer, 2026