Amazing hidden worlds become visible through a forgotten Victorian art form

Diatoms, a form of algae, are invisible to the naked eye. But when placed under a microscope, the symmetrical organisms offer grand displays of nature’s remarkable diversity of colour and form. The Diatomist follows Klaus Kemp, one of the last remaining practitioners of the Victorian art form of diatom arrangement, as he hunts down specimens in the UK’s ditches, troughs and gutters to create new displays. His wondrous creations offer a lovely portal into the world of Victorian art and its intersection with science, of aesthetics entwined with investigation.