Irina Kalapyshina
Cell
Installation (sculpture, 3D modelling, VR)
2025
The project consists of a sculptural group, a documentary about a scientific experiment to explore the effect of magnetic fields on the migration of cancer cells, including visualizations of cancerous nodes, and a mixed reality space where visitors can interact with 3D models of cancerous nodes and transformed cells in virtual space.
Focusing on problems in cancer research, this artistic exploration is inspired by the scientific hypothesis that magnetosomes and the application of direct current fields can inhibit the migration of cancer cells. In the context of the exhibit, cancer cells are perceived as a lifeform with its own unique qualities that emerge from the cells of a person’s body.
For the past 50 years, cancer research has remained a priority area of scientific enquiry. Governments, pharmaceutical companies, and private enterprises all around the world are working to develop new forms of cancer treatment. Cancer is a grave social, economic and political problem, so it is also of great interest to artists.
Through mixed reality, visualization and a personal bodily experience, visitors are able to gain new insights into the role of cell clusters in the human body. Interaction with virtual objects through a system of virtual arms offers a new way of viewing the disease as a war with one’s own body, to feel the internal structure of a tumour, and the biological chaos and power within them.
Special thanks to the Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Science, Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radiowave Propagation of the Russian Academy of Sciences for their support in creating this project
Cell
Installation (sculpture, 3D modelling, VR)
2025
The project consists of a sculptural group, a documentary about a scientific experiment to explore the effect of magnetic fields on the migration of cancer cells, including visualizations of cancerous nodes, and a mixed reality space where visitors can interact with 3D models of cancerous nodes and transformed cells in virtual space.
Focusing on problems in cancer research, this artistic exploration is inspired by the scientific hypothesis that magnetosomes and the application of direct current fields can inhibit the migration of cancer cells. In the context of the exhibit, cancer cells are perceived as a lifeform with its own unique qualities that emerge from the cells of a person’s body.
For the past 50 years, cancer research has remained a priority area of scientific enquiry. Governments, pharmaceutical companies, and private enterprises all around the world are working to develop new forms of cancer treatment. Cancer is a grave social, economic and political problem, so it is also of great interest to artists.
Through mixed reality, visualization and a personal bodily experience, visitors are able to gain new insights into the role of cell clusters in the human body. Interaction with virtual objects through a system of virtual arms offers a new way of viewing the disease as a war with one’s own body, to feel the internal structure of a tumour, and the biological chaos and power within them.
Special thanks to the Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Science, Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radiowave Propagation of the Russian Academy of Sciences for their support in creating this project