This is why the After Agri collaborative has the edge on the cultural evolution in agriculture. Their project called The Algae Opera may well be the key to altering the world’s agricultural landscape… but putting it on your face.

With an upcoming demonstration at the Digital Design Weekend at the V&A, Michiko Nitta and Michael Burton of After Agri have created a contraption that looks like a stray prop from 5th Element. It will use an opera singer’s breath to grow edible algae. Since algae is a photo-synthetic organism, it will feed off exhaled carbon dioxide. The product of the singer’s diaphragm will generate an exponentially high volume of algae. The algae will be manipulated by using different pitches and frequencies aimed to make food taste either bitter or sweet. Mind… blown.

“In the age of biotechnology not only can the audience listen to her talent but they can also savor her unique blend of algae that are enriched by her song.”

Listen to your food grow right in front of your eyes. We are not sure about the hygienic issues associated with this undertaking, but if it can create a never ending source of food, we won’t bitch about the details too much. Pass the algae on the left hand side!

Algae Opera is yet another installment in the algae explorative series by After Agri and hardly the most unconventional one. This 2010 piece actually argued for human evolution into “Plantimals.” We’ll let you find out what that is on your own.


(Images via Happy Famous Artists and After Agri)