At the cusp of immortality: field notes on hydra

Biologist Cornelia Dulac has been missing since 2014. Her audiotapes, notes and drawings were discovered at a remote cabin in Eastern Finland. It is more than probable that something had deviated from Dulac’s plans. She had been researching hydra, a biologically immortal freshwater polyp that can regenerate into a full animal from just a small cluster of cells.

Immortal takes the reader on a journey through Cornelia Dulac’s mind. Scientific research, photographs, hand-drawn sketches and laboratory notes meld together as Dulac’s obsessive quest strays off course. This gripping journey of experimentation and discovery addresses mankind’s age-old fascination with cheating death.

The innovative format of this artbook presents real scientific research alongside Maija Tammi’s hypnotic photographs of hydra and Ville Tietäväinen’s vivid sketches. The reader is invited to learn about the forever-living hydra, reflect upon Greek myths and grapple with mortality.