Karen Tang’s sculptures are co-created with cyanobacteria – ancient photosynthetic microorganisms – as living partners, learning from their microbial, more-than-human agency. Karen explores how cyanobacteria sculpt themselves into shape-shifting colonies with extraordinarily varied morphologies. At global scale, cyanobacteria geo-engineer aquatic and terrestrial environments. Propagating cyanobacteria developed from Karen’s fascination with evolutionary biology, which began soon after MFA Sculpture at the Slade and receiving the Duveen Travel Scholarship for undersea and jungle expeditions. Karen’s PhD research with CSM Living Systems Lab supports her art-science methodologies. She is a Senior Lecturer at UAL and exhibits widely in galleries and public spaces.
