This Wednesday, June 8 is World Oceans Day, which celebrates its 30th anniversary. On this occasion, two scientific artists are preparing an unusual and fascinating underwater performance. They will illuminate the statues of the underwater museum of Marseille, installed several meters under water in front of the beach of the Catalans, thanks to bioluminescence. “I sow light, the light that comes from life, commonly called bioluminescence. Bio for life, luminescence for light“, says Nadia Mérad Coliac. This researcher at the Institute of Neuro-physiopathology at the University of Aix-Marseille is one of the two artists involved in this adventure. This light is produced by bacteria that Nadia Mérad Coliac has locked in glass balls which will then be submerged to illuminate the statues.
Bioluminescence is a discovery that we owe to the French doctor and researcher Raphaël Dubois (1849-1929). “It was he who discovered the secret of fireflies, sought since ancient times. Dubois had to finally give us the formula, which he called luciferin and luciferase“, explains the researcher. Luciferin is the chemical compound at the origin of luminescence. This emits light by oxidizing thanks to the intervention of luciferase, an enzyme.
In the laboratory of the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanology, Jérémie Brugidou, filmmaker and researcher, is also preparing Wednesday’s performance. He works with plastic spheres, inside which bacteria have been trapped. Bacteria discovered by chance on a telescope submerged at a depth of 2000 meters off Toulon. “When they pulled it up, they discovered it had been covered by biofilm, bacteria that emitted light. And by analyzing this biofilm, they discovered this bacterial species that we did not know about. And there are plenty of species of bacteria that make light in the ocean. It is one among thousands of others“.
Bacteria that have a limited lifespan, so before June 8, the installation must be tested. Jérémie Brugidou’s bioluminescent spheres are therefore immersed for the first time. For the artist, this performance is also a message about the fragility of the oceans and the urgency of protecting them. “I am quite worried by the appetites, industrial, of dredging, in spaces where one does not know what there is. But we continue to destroy, to exploit, to extract. And the desire was to create a pocket of imagination of other things“.