I acquired a herbarium, lovingly assembled by an unknown collector. The location of the algae, as well as their different species, the dates and the years are meticulously recorded in a journal at the end of the herbarium. Establishing a relationship with these lifeless algae took me time, and it was while discovering a long poem (Chōka) by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro that I began to take an interest in them. In this farewell poem to his wife, the artist uses algae as a metaphor for his love. Algae are present everywhere, in the sea and in fresh water, from polar regions to the tropics. Some of them live in extreme conditions. Cyanobacteria and algae are credited with the transformation of the once toxic atmosphere into an oxygen-rich one. They enabled the emergence of animal life on the planet. Using a 170-year-old photographic process, I create unique pieces on black glass specially made for these works. These ambrotypes (term derived from the Greek word "ambrotos" meaning "immortal") bring the herbarium's algae back to life, and thus make them immortal. Steffen Diemer.