Exhibition Guide
Selin Balci. Contamination ’66’. 2025. At Staten Island Museum, NY. Courtesy of the artist. © Selin Balci
Contamination (39° 19.718’ N, 76° 37.326’ W)
Audio
Audio Description
Read Transcript
Art Object Info
Selin Balci transforms microscopic life into striking visual compositions. Her Contamination series explores the intersection of biology and art through the collection and cultivation of mold spores. In this series, she collected mold spores from Baltimore’s Wyman Park and incubated them on panels, allowing them to grow into vibrant organic patterns. Once fully developed, the panels were coated in epoxy resin, halting further growth while preserving the intricate forms and colors.
Expanding upon the themes of growth and preservation in Contamination, Balci’s Faces replaces blank panels with Polaroid portraits of staff from the Baltimore Museum of Art and the artist’s friends and family. Balci collected invisible microorganisms from each person’s body and applied the samples to their corresponding photograph, growing mold spores directly on the image. She reimagines portraiture beyond the visible, illustrating the complex and often overlooked ecosystems within and around us. The project underscores the interconnectedness of human life and the microbial world, reminding us of our shared existence with the organisms that shape and sustain our environment.
Balci is an interdisciplinary artist based in Annapolis, Maryland. Originally from Istanbul, Türkiye, she moved to the United States and transitioned from a background in forestry to a career in art. She earned a B.F.A. in Intermedia from West Virginia University and, later, an M.F.A. in Mixed Media/Installation from the University of Maryland.
Contamination (39° 19.718’ N, 76° 37.326’ W)
Selin Balci transforms microscopic life into striking visual compositions. Her Contamination series explores the intersection of biology and art through the collection and cultivation of mold spores. In this series, she collected mold spores from Baltimore’s Wyman Park and incubated them on panels, allowing them to grow into vibrant organic patterns. Once fully developed, the panels were coated in epoxy resin, halting further growth while preserving the intricate forms and colors.
Expanding upon the themes of growth and preservation in Contamination, Balci’s Faces replaces blank panels with Polaroid portraits of staff from the Baltimore Museum of Art and the artist’s friends and family. Balci collected invisible microorganisms from each person’s body and applied the samples to their corresponding photograph, growing mold spores directly on the image. She reimagines portraiture beyond the visible, illustrating the complex and often overlooked ecosystems within and around us. The project underscores the interconnectedness of human life and the microbial world, reminding us of our shared existence with the organisms that shape and sustain our environment.
Balci is an interdisciplinary artist based in Annapolis, Maryland. Originally from Istanbul, Türkiye, she moved to the United States and transitioned from a background in forestry to a career in art. She earned a B.F.A. in Intermedia from West Virginia University and, later, an M.F.A. in Mixed Media/Installation from the University of Maryland.