Into the microVerse – Micrographia with Shae Nadine|| SubtleFlux

In Dialogue

_I8A1922 anemone up small.jpg — into the microVerse – Mutualism, 2024. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Inspired by scientist and illustrator Robert Hooke’s seminal book, Micrographia, published in 1665, into the microVerse – Micrographia invites viewers into an immersive interdisciplinary installation where projected and printed microscopy act as a vehicle to witness the beauty of nature and our environment through magnified images of plant cells, microorganisms, and organic structures to transform our perspective of the familiar. Through this microscopic and material journey, the exhibition encourages a renewed perspective on our role as stewards of Earth’s delicate ecosystems and biodiversity, asking us to reimagine how we might preserve and protect these intricate natural systems for generations to come.

What is the genesis of this show?

I have always been fascinated by details, a constant observer of the smallest of small, I make time to witness branched veins in a leaf, sidewalk cracks inhabited by new life, weaves of fabric, a carpenter bee’s fuzz, the glint of reflected light from a dew drop… This led naturally to macro photography and ultimately microscopy—a vehicle that reveals nature’s hidden beauty through ultra-magnified lenses which bridges STEM and Art. This novel approach to photography acts as a vehicle to see the beauty of nature through ultra magnified lenses. In this work I enlarge and project these still and filmic images, I seek to draw in viewers, to reveal hidden beauty, to provoke viewers to ask questions about our relationship with nature and our environment.

In this shift of perspective where the tiny becomes giant, I encourage viewers to see microworlds in new light through Public Arts activations which include the exhibition I curated in Chicago, Veritas Magnus vis Microscopia, where works by 15 artists and scientists who represented five continents were laser projected throughout a two-story corner building with department store sized windows nightly from October 2024 – February 2025. Currently, on view at the Port Authority Bus Terminal (W42nd Street/8th Avenue, NYC) four large vinyl panels of my microscopy work are displayed in the Port Authority Windows Project at Times Square, made possible by ChaShaMa & The Port Authority of NY & NJ. Without trees we cannot have clean air, without clean air, we cannot breathe, without breathing we cannot exist. Everything is interconnected. This is what inspires me to bring together STEM and Art through interactive and highly visible activations that bring together community through beauty and enable greater awareness.

photos courtesy of the artist. https://subtleflux.nyc/port-authority-windows https://chashama.org/event/port-authority-vinyl

What will we see in your show?

The exhibition features aluminum prints of sea anemones—ancient guardians of our oceans that have thrived for 500 million years since the Cambrian period. These ecosystem keystones offer shelter to some organisms while they become sustenance for others. An ethically sourced newly hatched squid appears so abstract you might mistake it for a painted creation, alongside delicate orchids I’ve grown—their images captured after they naturally fell and dried.

These prints accompany projections that reveal active microscopic worlds: Egeria Densa with the cyclosis of chloroplasts that zip about to position themselves for optimal light; baby squid specimens through compound microscopes where chromatophores shift and change color to blend into their environment; water bear Tardigrades; and Stentor Polymorphous—the most complex single-celled organism known.

Visitors will encounter the delicate tentacles of Astrangia poculata (North Star Coral), a non-reef building species that exists from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico. This coral, which attaches to docks, wrecks, and ledges, now serves as a subject in microplastics pollution studies. In laboratory experiments, these organisms select microplastics over nutrient-dense foods when researchers present both options.

The projections overlay an installation built entirely from upcycled waste materials, sourced through Materials for the Arts visits and volunteer sorting sessions at FabScrap, where volunteers sort pre-consumer waste from the fashion and interior design industries for upcycling, downcycling, recycling, and rubbish. This creates a dialogue that challenges our relationship with disposable culture. As visitors move through this multisensory space, the juxtaposition prompts reflection on our consumption choices and their environmental impacts.

IMG_0085 baby twist squid small.jpg — into the microVerse – The Bell Tolls, 2024. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Tell us about the grant for this project.

This NYSCA-funded project aims to tie together science, art, and the history of scientific illustrations with modern innovations in microscopy, which highlight the beauty of our natural world and symbiotic relationship with our planet.

The grant supports both the exhibition and its public engagement components which includesinteractive stations available at the exhibition and several free public workshops for all ages. These include hands-on activities where participants will explore early drawings and illustrations from scientific microscopy pioneers which include Robert Hooke, Ernst Haeckel, George Eberhard, and Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek, participants will then view and draw from specimen images as early scientists did. There will also be a reference library of historical microscopy texts, including PDF copies of Hooke’s seminal 1665 book Micrographia.

There will be future panel discussions with artists, scientists, and environmentalists via Zoom moderated by the artist in partnership with LIC-A & SciArt Synapse. into the microVerse – Micrographia is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

into the microVerse – Micrographia into the microVerse – Micrographia is an immersive interdisciplinary installation of projected and printed microscopy. Vehicles to witness the beauty of nature and our environment through magnified images that transform perspectives. Opening: 5-7Pm May 14, 2025; Artist talk: 6PM May 17th. The show runs from May 15 to May 18th.

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About the artist: Shae Nadine, nom de guerre SubtleFlux (b.Shana Nadine Ehrlich) is a child of a refugee immigrant and first-generation Canadian American interdisciplinary artist and curator who leverages bio-scientific techniques with more traditional artistic processes that bear witness to the fragile nature of our symbiotic relationship with environment. They explore the juxtaposition of universality and intimacy, in addition to the struggle between humanity and nature through the Buddhist concept of ‘inter-being’. They have exhibited in NYC, Hudson Valley, Chicago, N.Ireland, France, Rwanda, Colombia, Brazil, Portugal, etc. They have received numerous fellowships, scholarships, grants, and residencies, in Summer of 2024 they were a Fellow at the Saas-Fee Academy, they are presently a NYSCA FY25 grant recipient sponsored by LIC-Artists, a Spring/Summer 2025 LMCC/NYCDCA SU-CASA grant recipient and Teaching Artist in Residence at Greenwich House/Westbeth OAC, and a Spring/Summer 2025 Fellow at MGC at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, NY. They are based in NYC and are founder and curator of Poche Projects in Long Island City, NYC. @SubtleFlux

Micrographia is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.