Twee microscoopopnamen van bederfbacteriën before 1885

Gustav Hauser captured these microscopic images of bacteria, perhaps around the turn of the century. Here, the bacteria are presented within circular frames, almost like celestial bodies viewed through a telescope. These forms, though scientific in intent, evoke something primal. The circle, an ancient symbol, recurs across cultures as a sign of wholeness, eternity, and the cosmos itself. Yet, within these perfect forms, we see chaos and decay, a disruption of order. Think of the Ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail. Here, the perfect form of a circle contains the terror of decomposition and disease. We confront the age-old tension between the human desire for order and the inevitable reality of decay. The artist has captured something profoundly disturbing. This pull between the desire for order and the unconscious knowledge of disruption is what gives this seemingly scientific image its evocative power, drawing us into a deeper contemplation of life and its inevitable end.