96 Variations on a Phylogenetic Tree is an art installation in the Bessey Hall atrium. It developed through a collaborative process with University Scientists. Together, we studied how we might fill the atrium with a representation of the Phylogenetic Tree, also known as the Tree of Life.
In biology, The Tree of Life shows evolutionary relationships among all organisms. It is a diagram that branches upward from “a common ancestral life-form”, or the origin of all species. The branches, known as “taxa” to biologists, are groups of closely related species. Three “domains” (Bacteria, Archaea, and Eucaryota) encompass the taxa.
We made our tree in stainless steel ball chain. Thousands of individual chains interconnect like a web, and are suspended within the atrium. The chains, each hanging from two points, represent the branches. Three contrasting colors indicate the three domains. Near the bottom of the installation, a single vertical chain represents the common ancestor.
Ball chain is very thin, a few strands would look insubstantial within the four story atrium. To give the tree a stronger visual presence, we made 96 variations using five and a half miles of chain. Each variation is slightly different in scale and composition than the others. Multiple iterations of the tree give the installation depth within the narrow atrium but they also function conceptually as an acknowledgement that scientific model is a snapshot of contemporary understanding. Scientific knowledge is continually evolving by reevaluating existing models while developing new ones. Science itself, is iterative.
20093 segments of chain, each unique in length and location, comprised the installation. To accommodate so much intricacy, we worked with a computer controlled machine to cut the ball-chain into unique segments then link the segments in a precise order to make the individual chains. The chains interconnect and when under the effects of gravity while hung in the atrium, form the Tree.
The resulting artwork is a dynamic system in equilibrium: the weight of an individual chain influences the shape of the entire tree while the shape of the entire tree, in turn, impacts the shape of the individual chain. As an artwork, it is a visual metaphor for the delicate balance among all living things. It will invite us to better appreciate the inter-relatedness of humans with the Tree of Life, identify our role in the environment, and help us to see our responsibility for the well-being of the planet.
