SLIME

Mucus is extremely versatile, serving as a lubricant, adhesive or protective barrier inside the body. Its seemingly simple structure makes mucus adaptable and therefore irreplaceable for many bodily functions.

Biological mucus is mostly hydrogel and consists of little more than water in molecular chains. If one of the essential mucuses fails, infections and other diseases can occur. This is another reason why hydrogels are becoming increasingly important in biomedical research.

We view mucus with ambivalent feelings. It doesn't really bother us during sex, but if someone sniffs it back up into their nose, we find it disgusting.

In this exhibition, we follow very different traces of mucus – biological, historical, cultural – and uncover the secrets of this underrated bodily fluid.

Photo: Aloe Vera Blob © Vera Franke, 2025