BugSim (Pheromone Spa)

BugSim (Pheromone Spa), 2022

Theo Triantafyllidis

Live Simulation

A precious slice of microscopic life preserved in an intensive care terrarium. Through a moist glass surface and within lush vegetation expands a busy colony of ants. Slowly and painstakingly they are working to form a brittle purple mud into a structure they can call home. From this structure grows an entire forest of tiny flowering plants. Branching and blooming in every direction, they are calling to be pollinated by buzzing honeybee replicas. An aromatic snail and a dung beetle provide help, while a storm mantis and a sugar spider complete the ecosystem of microfauna, praying for a snack. All but self-sustaining, this closed terrarium system is engineered to simulate all the necessary natural cycles for the fragile community of organisms. The flow of nutrients, hormones, moisture, and temperature is constantly regulated under the sound of insects buzzing. An experiment in resilience and entropy carefully monitored by a mysterious figure, contemplating on the paradox of environmental repair.

Originally commissioned by M. Museum (Almere, The Netherlands).
Courtesy of the artist and The Breeder Gallery - Athens.


Pheromone Spa (I want to kiss every bug but they are so small and my lips are so strong), 2023

Theo Triantafyllidis & Labrilena Konstantelou

Olfactory Installation

An outdoor olfactory installation featuring large sculptures referencing the intricate structures built by ant colonies in “BugSim.” Visitors are enveloped in a rich scent landscape, produced by a combination of handmade and synthetic essential oils and human pheromones. Sculptural diffusers release bursts of scent into a fine mist of water that produces a cooling effect for the audience.

Commissioned by Onassis Stegi for the Plásmata ΙΙ: Ioannina exhibition.