Carla Alcalá Badías
From January 21 to February 1, 2026
Inauguration: January 21 at 7 p.m.
Counterforts Room, Centro del Carmen
“Variable Currents” is an installation by artist Carla Alcalá Badías, which configures a living ecosystem in which bacteria, minerals, water, insects and human agencies coexist in a continuous exchange of matter and energy. The work foregrounds bacterial metabolic processes, making visible forms of non-human intelligence that have operated since the origins of early life on Earth.
The black ceramic pieces function as microbial fuel cells: on their surface, electroactive soil bacteria form biofilms capable of transforming organic matter into bioelectric activity. This energy, produced slowly and variably, feeds a central fountain whose water flow responds directly to bacterial metabolic activity. The expelled water is recirculated through a self-watering system that maintains optimal humidity conditions for the biopiles and sustains the equilibrium of the whole. Other bacterial communities are also involved in this ecosystem, forming complex structures that reinforce the clay barrier through biomineralization processes.
Far from presenting technology as an instrument of control, Variable Currents proposes biodesign as a relational and cultural practice, based on reciprocity and coexistence with the ecosystems we inhabit.
Exposure resulting from the Artistic Residency Program ai2 UPV 2024.