Cosmo Cookbook is an art-science project that explores the intersection of scientific laboratory protocols and artistic practice. Funded by the Goethe Institut and Associação Estufa, I work in close collaboration with visual artist and performer Isabella Ogeda. We are both interested in the intersection of our two disciplines, as both practices (scientific and srtistic) act to transform matter.
From a scientific, geomorphological perspective, the process of extracting and measuring Beryllium accumulated in rocks on Earth's surface reveals to us something previously unknown and unseen: geological time. The artist's work performs the same task, making new thoughts, feelings, and emotions tangible to the observer. Although the work of the scientist and artist appear to be radically different, they are both anchored in the exact same fundamental gesture: paying close attention to matter. The laboratory and the atellier are not oposite but parallel environments. Both manage strict technical parameters, handle volatile elements, alter physical temperatures, and enforce rigorous safety protocols. Both artist and scientist are deeply invested in the tactile, physical labor of manipulating the material world to test the limits of human perception. This ongoing body of work explores the tensions and similarities between these two worlds through a dual immersion – the artist in the scientist's laboratory and the scientist in the artist's atellier.
In September 2024, Isabella Ogeda joined me in a round of Beryllium-10 extraction from quartzite cobbles cobbles collected in the Rio Deseado, Patagonia, Argentina. The process follows a protocol endearingly named "Cosmo Cookbook", which comprises two weeks of complex chemical labwork handling dangerous chemicals, requiring maximum care and precision. During this time, Isabella collected sketches, photographs, videos and observations of life in the laboratory. Our endless conversations about the parallels between her artistic process and my scientific methods generated a wealth of impressions, visual material material and emotional imprressions that are still coming to surface.