The shapes, you see in these pictures are created by mixing ferrofluid with water color and putting it into a magnetic field.  Ferrofluid is a magnetic solution with a viscosity similar to motor oil. When put under a magnetic field, the iron particles in the solution start to rearrange, forming the black channels and separating the water colors from the ferrofluid. The result are these peculiar looking structures which were photographed by Fabian Oefner.

For more details on the project click here.