Colorful Abstract Macro Photographs Created by Injecting Watercolors Into Ferrofluid On a Magnet

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Artist Fabian Oefner‘s project Millefiori is, like most of the projects we’ve ever shared by him, a mixture of science and art. By combining vibrant watercolors with a magnetic solution called ferrofluid, he was able to create these gorgeous macro photographs of the paint and ferrofluid interacting on top of a magnet.

According to Oefner’s description, these images come about because, when you put ferrofluid in a magnetic field, the iron particles in the solution start to rearrange to form these little black channels you see.

And as he injects more and different watercolors onto the magnet, the channels rearrange, adjust and encapsulate the paint in ever-more intricate ways, forming what Oefner has dubbed, “peculiar looking structures.”

Here’s a look at a few of the images he took. Keep in mind, the circles you see here are about the size of a thumbnail:

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Even cooler than the photos, however, is watching this process in action. The behind the scenes video below shows how the images are created — from plain ferrofluid, to colorful explosion. This, incidentally, is also a look at how Oefner created the artwork that appears on the cover of the band Guster‘s upcoming album Evermotion:

If you’d like to see more of Oefner’s work, check out our previous coverage of his projects, head over to his website, or give him a follow on Behance where you can see these images at higher res.

(H/T Boing Boing)


Photo credits: Photographs by Fabian Oefner

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