Stamping Genes invites conference participants to join a speculative biohacking experiment exploring species hybridization.
Inspired by research on species near Ljubljana and Koper, Slovenia, and the environmental challenges they face, this project imagines species hybridization as a creative response to ecological problems. The outcomes are open-ended, focusing on learning, discovery, and reflection over certainty.
In our lab, participants wear a microbiota transfer patch on their skin. This patch represents the merging of microbiota from two species. It’s safe and symbolic (agar-based), though it might cause slight discomfort to represent the tensions of transgressing boundaries. Participants wear the patch during the conference, taking on the role of hosts in this speculative experiment.
The experiment highlights paragenetic evolution, where genetic material moves between organisms in new ways rather than through traditional inheritance from ancestors. At the same time, we are critically examining the ethics of our actions. Microbial communities, which operate through their own democratic processes, may resist or reject the transfer. This raises important questions about consent and agency within biological systems.
Our DIWO (Do-It-With-Others) lab combines art and science, removing institutional and high-tech barriers to create an accessible space for hands-on exploration. Participants of our lab engage with the interplay of fragility and resilience, opening up possibilities for collaboration and adaptation.
Through this act of hosting, Stamping Genes invites reflection on ideas of consent, enrichment, and resilience in shared ecological systems. The experience serves as both a personal exploration and a platform for broader conversations about species hybridization, ecological adaptation, and the possibilities of speculative futures. By navigating these complexities, participants help rethink collaboration and transformation where boundaries are shifting.
Kristin Lucas is an artist exploring connectivity as both an interpersonal process and a condition of the digital age—shaped by technological and ecological forces alike. Through speculative, often collaborative works—spanning biohacking, solar-powered web projects, and AR installations—she embraces complexity, challenging dominant narratives that shape how we see ourselves, relate to one another, and the more-than-human agents with whom we co-create realities. Lucas’s work has been featured in Art in America, Engadget, and Hyperallergic, with commissions from institutions including Dia Center for the Arts, FACT Liverpool, Rhizome.org, and the Whitney Museum. She is represented by And/Or Gallery in Pasadena and Electronic Arts Intermix in New York. Lucas studied at The Cooper Union and Stanford University, and currently teaches in the art department at the University of Texas at Austin.
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Hosting Institution
Supported by
Ionian University
Secretariat - Conference TTT Webteam
Tsirigoti Square 7, 49100 Corfu
Ionian Islands Region, Greece
av-ttt@ionio.gr
