Biohacking: Playing with technology

Abstract

This chapter examines the process of image production by open-source microscopes from the perspective of play. The question what happens to images when microscopes move from the lab to open-source hacker spaces is probed by deconstructing the material layers of its production. Politically motivated to democratize science, open-source translations transform the use and function of biotechnology. And while the process of translation may compromise microscopes’ scientifijic capability, they gain in value from experimentation by artists and citizens. As a result, playing with biotechnology is an educative and creative exploration of the use and construction of scientifijic instruments, where the multi-layered process of making an image becomes observable to the naked eye.