2026 Found in Translation by Dunia Sahir. Photo © Gerda Fischbach

Found in Translation

2026, Installation and Video

Found in Translation gathers work from my recent research in structural biology, sculpture, history, philosophy of science, and media theory. I trace common inceptions and present entanglements of these fields by focusing on morphology in scientific model-making. Models make the invisible tangible through several layers of abstraction and scaling. They act in a context of reference points which generates both generalisation and accessibility. While models are commonly studied through their representational value, I am far more interested in their operationality and worldbuilding potential.

Three elements compose this cosmology: wax sculptures, Xray print and a video work within a camera obscura setting. The installation brings digital elements into physical form, while the videowork functions as context, background and alternate world. We follow a fictional candid relationship between Anna Morandi, 18th century anatomist, and her wax sculpture, Chantal, both writing intimate letters in search for a common language to breach their material discontinuities.

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Found in Translation