(U-WIRE) ATHENS, Ohio – Art, ecology and game culture come together in one interactive piece of art during the Biomodd (ATH1) installation, which opened yesterday at Union Arts, 15 W. Union St.

Running until Jan. 22, the exhibit was created by Angelo Vermeulen, the Aesthetic Technologies Lab residency artist, Ohio University students and Athens residents.

“I wanted to see how far we can push installation art in different domains like ecology and game culture,” Vermeulen said.

Visitors to the exhibit participate by playing a multi-player computer game. The heat generated by the game causes a living ecosystem of microscopic algae and plant forms to grow. While it grows, the algae cool the computer processors, Vermeulen said.

The art piece was assembled with plants and recycled computer parts from the university, Vermeulen said. It is structured vertically in a glass box where people can see the plants grow and even hear the circuitry of the computer.

“It’s amazing how the computer and plant are still functional even though they are displayed on walls,” Jeff Lovett, a fine arts graduate student who helped with the exhibit, said.

Vermeulen said he wants people to see how the components of the structure work together. “I want people to react with a complex emotion and see that it’s an art piece from different angles,” he said.