The installation Roscoffensis I/O, developed by Miha Godec since 2023 with the support of the Roscosmoe Lab, takes an in-depth look at the complex relationship and symbiosis between plants and animals, focusing in particular on the marine flatworm Symsagittifera roscoffensis; an animal-algae symbiosis that enables the worm to live fully off the photosynthetic activity of its microalgae symbionts, which it ingests but does not digest and keeps in its epidermis. Inspiration of the prospective scenario of a future “Homo Photosyntheticus” developed by evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis, the Symsagittifera roscoffensis has become a model organism for research into the design of bioregenerative life support systems for space exploration.
As an interactive installation Roscoffensis I/O explores the intricate symbiosis established between a Roscoffensis colony and an anthropomorphized artificial intelligence system. It underscores the complexity of natural interdependencies and invites viewers to reconsider their relationship with the environment, questioning it as a dynamic and living system where technology and biology coalesce.
The Roscosmoe Lab is an art & science platform launched by Ewen Chardronnet in 2015 in partnership with Dr. Xavier Bailly from the Roscoff Marine Station (France). Roscosmoe hosts or supports artists conducting researches in the field of marine biology, photosymbiosis, developmental biology, algal ecology, design, anthropology of science and intermedia art. A major thread of the initiative is the design of research protocols involving the photosymbiotic worm Symsagittifera roscoffensis as a potential biological model to apply in space research. With Roscoffensis I/O as an observation habitat for its long-term research objectives the Roscosmoe Lab (Dr. Xavier Bailly, Ewen Chardronnet, Miha Godec, Maya Minder, Olivier Morvan, Špela Petrič and Miha Turšič) invite to examine animal-plant-machine interrelationships in anthropotechnical constructs, and to reflect on the future of terrestrial life forms here and in outer space.
Ewen Chardronnet is an artist, author, journalist and curator based in Paris. He is currently editor-in-chief of the bilingual web magazine Makery.info and coordinator of the Creative Europe cooperation programs “More-Than-Planet” (2022-2025) and “Rewilding Cultures” (2022-2026). In his work, he is interested in practices, tactics and speculations that connect artistic research and scientific knowledge to the creation of social situations that intertwine discourses and shifts of perspectives in the very fabric of society.
https://www.makery.info/en
https://laboratoryplanet.org/
https://roscosmoe.org
Miha Godec (1988) is an artist, musician, videographer, photographer and lecturer. With a formal background in natural sciences, Godec graduated in 2014 from the Academy of Arts of the University of Nova Gorica. During his studies, he studied at the Portuguese school ESAD (College of Art and Design). In addition to his photographic and artistic practices, he is also a lecturer for photography and virtual reality, while he independently conducts regular educational, scientific, and artistic workshops. In his artistic practice Godec, who works at the intersection of art, science, and new technologies, focuses on the development of new media projects, in which he researches the consequences of anthropogenic impact on aquatic ecosystems, experimenting with water as an artistic medium and researching the sonification properties of water and living organisms. Godec with a diverse skill set from new media, sound, video, and photography is exploring the juxtaposition of technology as a beacon of hope in addressing environmental crises and the contrasting realities of mindless capitalist consumption, analyzing how both forces are steering our contemporary actions.
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