26/08 2024
Novo gallery: Laura Rodriguez’s lecture “What is bioart?”
Association Metamedij organized a public lecture by multimedia artist Laura Rodriguez entitled “What is bioart?” which was held on Saturday, August 24, in the Novo gallery in Pula.
Gallery manager Marijeta Bradić from the Metamedij association introduced the author and noted that the lecture is held as part of the Summer Sessions international residential program. In addition to the lecture, the author will hold a workshop next weekend, and the presentation of the results of her residency will be held at the beginning of September, also in the Novo gallery.
During the lecture, Rodriguez clarified the basic ideas of bioart as part of contemporary artistic practices that use biotechnology in the creation of works of art. In the second part of the lecture, she presented a personal approach to work and cooperation with living systems for a more compassionate future.
– One of these works is “Ghost plants”. It is an artistic exploration of the materiality of plant entities, the life and death of plants. The work is based on the biotechnological process of decellularization of biological materials. Decellularization is the complete removal of all cellular components from a tissue while preserving its extracellular matrix. In this case, the removal of plant cells and preservation of the carbohydrate cellulose structure, explained Rodriguez.
Another interesting work that she presented and which is related to plants is called “Becoming plant”, which was realized in the domain of speculative design. It is an experiment and a ritual that tries to bridge the border between human and plant bodies. By implanting the structure of the plants and following the instructions after the operation, a ritual of transformation is established, which aims to shift the ability to perceive, think and move according to the values of the plant.
– One personal work that has its beginning in an ethical dilemma is called “A.I. mis hijos”. The story begins when we decided whether to undergo a hysterectomy on our Chihuahua. It was a decision I unconsciously avoided because I felt unprepared – I didn’t want to be the one to decide fertility and motherhood for another species. But Volta has another companion, my husband, who had a different opinion on the subject. He explained to me that Chihuahuas are at risk of developing complications during pregnancy and childbirth, and many have to give birth by caesarean section. After the operation, I decided to remove the cells from her uterus, and what remained was the biological cartilage scaffold of that organ, which in theory gives me the possibility to revive it later. I also decided to use artificial intelligence to create photos of her possible offspring, Rodriguez said.
During her residency, the artist will study the biomaterial that makes up food and compare the ways in which humans ingest food, whether it is biological food, information and thoughts we feed our brain, or artificial intelligence. The focus of this work is the avocado and the tomato, which apart from their primary function – nutrition – also have different cultural or political references that the author will discuss. At the end of the lecture, Rodriguez answered questions from the audience, which mainly concerned the ethics of the artistic processes of bioart.
– My first thought is whether I take care of the organism I use – how well I know it and what is my connection with it. The project in which I had the most ethical questions concerned my Chihuahua, that’s why I never presented it because I think it’s not easy to find a place that would be empathetic enough. A lot depends on the goal you set for yourself – for me, the line I don’t cross is a positive answer to the question of whether I am harming the body or imposing my will as a human being, said Rodriguez.
Laura Elidedt Rodriguez is a multimedia artist and curator living in the Netherlands, who combines art, science and education in her work. Through his knowledge acquired in the undergraduate study of biotechnology engineering, graduate study in molecular biology and additional graduate in arts and sciences, she explores the links between living organisms and the technological world, exposing hidden relationships, empathy and their mutual kinship. In her works, she implements the folklore of Mexico and post-humanist philosophy with new media and speculative design. In 2021, she was also awarded the Kuryokhin Prize in the category of art and science.
Summer Sessions is an international residential program for young artists and designers at the beginning of their careers. The co-production partner on this project is V2_ from the Netherlands.
