The Optics Division of the Metabolic Studio returns photography to its simplest technology, building its own tools and sourcing its own chemistry and even mining silver to produce emulsion. The Optics Division’s handmade processing and silver mining allude to the independent maker of images and the alchemy of silver and water and dust.
The Sonic Division of the Metabolic Studio uses sound as energy to remediate brownfields. Turning a silo on the edge of the Owens Dry Lake Bed into a musical instrument that plays itself—and reconnecting this industrial ruin with the city of Los Angeles, 240 miles away through sound. The Sonic Division plays, like sirens to ship wrecked sailors, weekly and filters that sound through the silos that sit on the lake 240 miles away.
