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About Selin

Anne Arundel County

Selin Balci is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher. Her artistic practice combines scientific equipment and biological mediums with traditional art materials. Selin’s work is classified as bio-art, a new direction in contemporary art that employs living organisms. The marriage of her formal science and art education let her exploit this relatively new practice. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Maryland, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from West Virginia University… more

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Bordered World

Bordered World, Evolving mold in 2500 Petri dishes at Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY, 2014-15
 
Bordered World creates a competition for resources, territorial wars, and struggle for power and control among living organisms. In this project, I reference the fundamental, underlying social dilemmas and principles of our existence in an effort to understand and highlight social issues. My concepts are explored using living entities such as fungus and mold to recreate observable interactions and conflicts across the picture surface, where the outcomes reveal boundaries, edges and distinctive forms. In Bordered World, all vital resources are restricted. This limited environment makes microbes compete for resources, dominate a particular area or become invasive and endanger others. When they share the same living platform, a conflict for resources arise and eventually this results with a borderline. The behaviors of the microorganisms resemble human actions and motives. Visually representing the world map, these microbes act as metaphors for war and the human predicament.

"In Selin Balci’s bio-art installation Bordered World, 2,500 Petri dishes compose a three-dimensional kaleidoscopic world map representing the universal struggle for survival and dominance. Within each hand “painted” Petri dish, live molds and fungi are in an observable battle for limited resources.  Distinctive borders slowly form and new colonies develop during this microscopic feud."
Smack Mellon Curator 
  • Bordered World
    Bordered World
    Evolving mold in 2500 Petri dishes at Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY, 2014-15
  • Bordered World
    Bordered World
    Evolving mold in 2500 Petri dishes at Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY, 2014-15
  • Bordered World
    Bordered World
    Evolving mold in 2500 Petri dishes at Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY, 2014-15
  • Bordered World
    Bordered World
    Evolving mold in 2500 Petri dishes at Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY, 2014-15
  • Bordered World
    Bordered World
    Evolving mold in 2500 Petri dishes at Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY, 2014-15
  • Installation of Bordered World at Smack Mellon gallery
    Evolving mold in 2500 Petri dishes at Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY, 2014-15
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