Prima Materia, 2026

“An ecosystem is a tapestry of species and relationships. Chop away a section, isolate that section, and there arises the problem of unraveling.”

-David Quammen

Echo Arts, Bozeman, MT
An art+science collaboration with artist Kevin Tracy and the MSU Living Materials Alliance exploring the intersection of ecological intelligence, living materials, and contemporary art practice.

Prima Materia (‘first matter’ in alchemy and philosophy) is a cross-disciplinary, mixed media installation that integrates painting, sculpture, video and sound. Visual artists Sara Mast and Kevin Tracy worked with composer and music technologist Ben Fuhrman to explore the power and presence of microbial life. Using spirulina (cyanobacterium) as a sustainable fabric dye and referencing the oldest known fossils of stromatolites where cyanobacteria thrive, this exhibition promotes the reclamation of our torn ecosystem, embracing the intricate, fundamental biological processes that cyanobacteria embody and reveal.