TTTlabs BioFeral.BeachCamp (BFBC) has been concluded successfully with its second theme, New Repro-Zombie Studies (NR-ZS) - Undead Bioart / Bodyart on the Beach with fourteen media artists, bio artists and performing artists gathered in the Greek island of Crete to focus on understanding Fertilization, Embryonic Development, Grading and Germline Genetic Alteration on 5-14 April 2024. TTTlabs BioFeral.BeachCamp (BFBC) hosted a remarkable array of individuals pushing the boundaries of art, technology, and interdisciplinary exploration.
Participating in TTTlabs BioFeral.BeachCamp 2024 Spring: WhiteFeather Hunter, internationally recognized Canadian artist and scholar, specializing in technofeminism, witchcraft, and micro/cellular biology; Marko Markovic, artist researcher and curator of Galerie Utopia, exploring relationships between species in extreme living conditions; Kim Doan Quoc, Paris-based artist whose works question the place of humans within nature; Wave (Weeratouch) Pongruengkiat, Thai artist and engineer advocating for a deeper connection with nature and AI; Natalie Jeremijenko, an artist and engineer exploring the interface between society, the environment, and technology; Prathima Muniyappa, research assistant at MIT Media Lab's Space Enabled group, focusing on social justice and indigenous agency; Anastasia Mandel, performance artist and biohacker/ maker exploring DIY tools and reproductive rights; and Shih Wei Chieh, artist and Ph.D. student delving into cognitive science and AI philosophy.
The group also counted with the Greek participants Kelly Tarenidi and Elli Leventeri, both pursuing interdisciplinary art practices, Viktoria Koniaeva, exploring neuro-linguistics, and Serafim Parsaloglou Marathias, documentarist in residency. Guest participants were, on ground, Uroš Veber, Slovenian project developer bridging art and science, and Elizabeth Littlejohn, Canadian filmmaker focusing on sustainable design, and online, US artist Ken Rinaldo, and Greek artist Yiannis Melanitis.
Hosting site was the Athens School of Fine Arts’ Annex of Rethymno, a remarkable complex designed during the early 1970’s surrounded by a landscape of dense pine trees. Besides several self-organized workshops and active art practices, there was an open day with a full program of performances followed by a set of roundtables digging on deep ethical issues, and the participants visited: the opening of the exhibition Strong in Time Rena Papaspyrou – Aspa Stassinopoulou, curated by Maria Marangou at the Contemporary Art Museum of Crete; the Crete Fertility Center in Heraklion, the archaeological site of Knossos, Preveli beach and its palm forest.
Responsible for the coordination of TTTlabs are Adam Zaretsky, artistic director, and Dalila Honorato, scientific director. TTTlabs BioFeral.BeachCamp are co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union and the Ionian University as part of the project Rewilding Cultures. Comprehensive documentation and a video mini-documentary in the making will soon provide an insightful perspective on the program's endeavors, capturing its essence and impact.
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TTTlabs BFBC NR-ZS focuses on hacking research methods with wetlab Bioart as ‘ethics in action’ including creative audiovisual art mash-ups, novel apparatus prototyping and bio-ferality experiments in biomedia performance art utilizing: open source technologies; DIY (do-it-yourself), DIWO (do-it-with-others) and DITO (do-it-together) cultures; STEAM concepts, interdisciplinary and non-formal education; and hybrid activities, developed in a rural and rustic think-tank setting. Novel experimental perspectives in new reproductive technology, bioart, citizen science, environmental studies, apparatus electronics and body performances.
