Public history.
Exhibitions, festivals, installations, talks, collaborations and public projects from the continuing history of Imaginarium of Tears.
The archive brings together the different ways the project has entered public space since 2015 — from museums and photography festivals to live microscopy, scientific presentations, campaigns and cross-disciplinary collaborations.
Imaginarium of Tears — Schreiershuisje
Six enlarged crystallized tear photographs presented together with the personal stories behind them.
Tränenpalast / Palazzo delle lacrime
Group exhibition exploring human and non-human crying, including a microscopic tear photograph from Imaginarium of Tears and the participatory Tear Saline.
Tranen van Breda
Microscopic tear imagery contributed to a permanent memorial artwork by Margit Lukács and Persijn Broersen.
Cohésion, Larmes de Sel
Tear photography by Maurice Mikkers and Rose-Lynn Fisher presented in an exhibition connecting tears, crystallization and salt.
Bodies of Water — KIKK Festival
Imaginarium of Tears shown as part of KIKK in Town, an international programme connecting art, science and technology.
Imaginarium of Tears — University of Twente
Exhibition with Tear Collection Kits and a live microscopy moment linked to the university’s programme on the science of crying.
Het geheim van de traan — Noorderzon
Public programme with tear researcher Ad Vingerhoets and Maurice Mikkers exploring why humans cry and the microscopic landscapes left by tears.
Tear Couture — St James’s Palace
Microscopic tears from acid-attack survivors transformed into an immersive VR landscape and physical installation for the launch of ASTi’s report.
Painting the Invisible — Christian Hook / Sky Arts
Christian Hook visited Maurice Mikkers to investigate the hidden structures of human tears; the research informed works in Painting the Invisible and its Sky Arts documentary.
UP CLOSE / ON US — MOD.
Imaginarium of Tears included in MOD.’s UP CLOSE / ON US online exhibition examining how the external world shapes perception, cognition and emotion.
Wasser — horizonte zingst
Imaginarium of Tears included in the environmental photography programme exploring water as origin, element, resource and life.
Real Emotions. Real Film. — IDFA
Microscopic tear imagery used as the visual language of IDFA’s 2020 festival campaign, connecting individual tears to the emotions created by documentary film.
IDFA — Real Emotions. Real Film.
Tear microscopy used as part of the visual language of the documentary film festival campaign.
The Morphology of Parched Tears — APS DFD
Scientific presentation connecting patterns from Imaginarium of Tears to fluid mechanics, morphology and quantitative pattern analysis.
LAMENTO. Trauer und Tränen
Museum exhibition examining grief and tears through art and culture, including the microscopic tear photography of Maurice Mikkers.
De wondere wereld van de traan
Stage programme combining Ad Vingerhoets’ science of crying, music by Oliver Pesch and Maurice Mikkers’ microscopic tear landscapes.
University of Twente / DesignLab
Talk and live collection session in which volunteers donated tears as part of a research-oriented programme around crying and microscopy.
MIRA Festival — Human Tech Talks
Human Tech Talk and public booth where visitors could collect tears and see them crystallize under the microscope.
Hyle — Lacrima by Chiara Scarpitti
Three emotion-linked tears were imaged through Imaginarium of Tears and translated by Chiara Scarpitti into printed-silk jewellery for the Hyle exhibition.
Crying Out Loud!
Public evening around crying with tear donation, crystallization and live visualization of Imaginarium of Tears.
Quinzaine Photographique Nantaise
Imaginarium of Tears presented during the Quinzaine Photographique Nantaise photography festival.
REUSE × RISE — Dubai Creek Harbour
Exhibition and live tear visualization experience at Dubai Creek Harbour.
REUSE × RISE — Dubai 2017
Exhibition and live tear visualization experience at Dubai Creek Harbour.
123RF Studio — Imaginarium of Tears
Presentation of the tear project; 123RF later produced a dedicated film exploring the life of a single teardrop.
Divino Amore. L’enigma dell’amore nell’arte contemporanea
Contemporary-art exhibition exploring love and emotion, with Maurice Mikkers among the participating artists.
Steemfest — Tobacco Theater
Imaginarium of Tears presented in the festival exhibition area with live tear microscopy for visitors.
Science Festival — Singapore 2016
Imaginarium of Tears presented during the Science Festival at Science Centre Singapore.
Science Festival — Science Centre Singapore
Imaginarium of Tears presented during the Science Festival at Science Centre Singapore.
Lente Kabinet — Crying Games
Two public Crying Games sessions invited volunteers to donate a basal, reflex or emotional tear and view it through the microscope.
REUSE Festival — Kuwait City
Imaginarium of Tears presented as an interactive art-and-technology project at REUSE Festival.
TEDxAmsterdam — 2015
How do tears turn into art? Talk followed by tear donation and visualization.
TEDxAmsterdam — How do tears turn into art?
TEDx talk followed by a public tear-donation and visualization session in the venue lobby.
TodaysArt — 2015
Imaginarium of Tears presented at TodaysArt on the Pier in Scheveningen.
TodaysArt — The Pier
Large tear photographs and live microscope sessions presented at the Pier Classroom during TodaysArt.
Zaal3 — First Imaginarium exhibition
The earliest documented public exhibition of Imaginarium of Tears.