The vitreous body , whose title refers to the transparent gelatinous substance that fills the eye cavity and allows light perception, is a project that is an extension of the photographic practice of Lara Tabet, a medical biologist and transdisciplinary artist.
Following a personal mapping of the waters she traverses, Lara Tabet collects water samples in port areas, estuaries, artificial basins, and industrialized coastlines to establish an experimental bacteriography protocol in which aquatic microorganisms interact with photosensitive surfaces. Incubated on the gelatin of a colored film, bacteria and microbes alter its chemistry through corrosion and erosion.
Lara Tabet, The Vitreous Body, Arenc (detail), bacteriography, UV printing on glass, 2026 - Courtesy of the artist and Les Rencontres de la photographie d'Arles.