TABOO - TRANSGRESSION - TRANSCENDENCE

We will present an artist talk reflecting on three projects produced in the last year: The Stones Only Appear to Be Non-Living (caves), Fantastic Glitch Swamp (swamps), and Salinarum (halobacteria and extremophiles). Our presentation explores the intersection of art and science through the lens of subterranean ecosystems, focusing on caves, swamps, and extremophile habitats. Each project interrogates liminal spaces—ecologically, temporally, and epistemologically—through interdisciplinary methodologies, blending field research, digital technologies, and speculative narratives to reveal the fragile (un)balance deriving from division of human and non-human worlds.

In The Stones Only Appear to Be Non-Living, we examine caves as dynamic, living systems, challenging static perceptions of geological formations. Through 3D scanning and speculative storytelling, we expose the temporal depths of karstic landscapes and the slow violence of anthropogenic impact. Similarly, Fantastic Glitch Swamp uses augmented reality (AR) and speculative narratives to reimagine swamps as vital ecosystems, countering their stigma as stagnant wastelands and positioning them as spaces of resistance through a feminist lens. In Salinarum, we delve into halobacteria as metaphors for resilience in the Anthropocene. Using dissolving salt sculptures and magnified microbial projections, the installation explores the fragility of ecosystems, challenges human-centric perspectives and scales, and questions the illusion of control over natural processes. 

Together, these projects bridge art, science, and speculative storytelling to interrogate ecological thresholds, challenge anthropocentric thought, and inspire new ways of engaging with the natural world. In response to the challenges of the Anthropocene, we emphasize the importance of collective reimagination, proposing social structures that transcend human dominance and incorporate non-human agents into collaborative processes. This approach fosters multispecies resilience, urging us to rethink our relationships with both the environment and each other in an era defined by ecological transgression.