About Confetti and Ferromagnetic Rocks

Artist and researcher Ruta Spelskyte will introduce her previous artistic practice and ongoing projects, such as Collection of Confetti, Measurements of the Space, and Lucky Cats, before discussing her most recent postdoc research on magnetite and human magnetoreception. For the past several years, she has been exploring the geological and biological aspects of magnetite, a ferromagnetic rock found on the ground but also crystallized in the cells of the human brain and many living organisms on Earth. Ground magnetite is sold in art supply shops as a black pigment called Mars black. This linguistic coincidence has turned attention off Earth, and the latest fascination began with exploration of Mars and Lunar regoliths and attempts to phytomine ferromagnetic crystals out of those substances.