INOCULUM – Connecting the Other
Donnerstag 4. + Freitag 5. Februar 2016, in englisch, Eintritt frei
Lectures | Performances | Exhibition
Suzanne Anker | Laura Benitez Valero | Ursula Damm | Michael Dirnberger | Hans-Günther Döbereiner | Martin Grube | Agi Haines | William Myers | Maja Smrekar
Performances by Dani Ploeger and Interspecifics Collective
Moderation: Sascha Pohflepp | Curated by Theresa Schubert
Supervision: Prof. Ursula Damm | Curatorial Assistant: Sophia Gräfe
In the age of the anthropocene, our understanding of media and materials is in flux. Natural sciences are not only investigating living materials. Biotechnical methods are spreading into DIY-culture as well as into the field of bio hacking. Simultaneously in the humanities, the idea of the ‚post-human‘ has become a central topic. Artists are engaged in these discussions and are examining the relationship between humans and other life forms. In doing so they transcend the usage of living biological matter – be it of human or animal origin – as a mere tool, and foster collaborations between animate beings. Inocolum deals with these interdisciplinary and interspecific entanglements. Experts from the arts, natural sciences and philosophy will discuss their individual access to notions of the living.
Inocolum is a result of a 3-year research project examining ’slime mould‘, a well-known lab organism in biology. As a model organism, the biggest acellular being known on earth is not only assisting the life sciences to better understand basic principles of behaviour, but is also of interest for the computer sciences. Recent studies have applied the decision-making processes of slime moulds to hybrid computational systems which integrate these living organisms into computer chips.
The Inocolum conference situates these attempts in a historical, social and philosophical context. It presents current scientific research and artistic practices by twelve international experts. Inspired by the process of inoculation, the project will vaccinate and cultivate an interdisciplinary debate.
PROGRAMME
DAY 1 | THURSDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 2016
14:00 Welcome and Introduction by Theresa Schubert
14:15 Opening lecture by Hans-Günther Döbereiner:
Mind of Mold and Man
15:00 Panel 1: Manipulating Nature – Introducing Bioart
William Myers: The Gnawing Invisible
Ursula Damm: Shared experiences
16:30 Coffee break
17:00 Panel 2: Calculating Life – Speculating on Nature
Michael Dirnberger: Computing inspired by P. polycephalum
Agi Haines: The body dismantled
18:30 Dinner break
19:00 Retired Cybernetic Organism #2, Lecture Performance by Dani Ploeger
20:00 Non-human rhythms featuring Physarum, AV Performance by Interspecifics Collective
DAY 2 | FRIDAY, 5 FEBRUARY 2016
11:00 Panel 3: Transcending Genera
Martin Grube: Slime molds as versatile model organisms for natural sciences
Maja Smrekar: Hybrid Family – On becoming animal through a live practice
12:30 Lunch Break
13:00 Panel 4: The (Non-)Living – Relational Ethics and Post-human Dumpsites
Laura Benitez: Biomaterials, Nomadic Subjectivity and Agency
Dani Ploeger: Dead Devices as Material Force: the organic world of electronic waste
14:30 Closing lecture – Suzanne Anker: Life In the Bio Art Lab: Piercing the Divide
15:30 Round-up discussion
CLB Berlin, Aufbau Haus
Prinzenstr. 84.2
10969 Berlin
Axel Daniel Reinert 