Selfish Bacteria

Small Cosmos: Our Bodies as Planets Inhabited by Bacteria

It is said that there are hundreds of species of bacteria residing in our intestines, with approximately 100 trillion individual organisms in total. In recent years, gut flora analysis has become increasingly widespread as a means of assessing gut health. This analysis involves fecal sampling and examining the types and proportions of intestinal bacteria.
What if we envision our bodies as planets inhabited by a diverse population of bacteria?
This project uses the results of gut flora analyses from 20 participants to create unique “planets.” Together, these planets form an entirely new universe.
Under the influence of these invisible inhabitants, what kinds of cities might we create? Extending this question, the work simulates the behavior patterns of slime molds—organisms that prey on bacteria—upon the existing urban structure of Tokyo, envisioning Neo Tokyo, a future city reimagined and regenerated by microorganisms.