May 25-29, 2015. Kaunas, Lithuania

“Between Arts and Science. Green technology and the concept of phytomining” is the third residency within the Food-Biotechnologies-Neocolonialism project series. This time we are collaborating with Kaunas University of Technology and the International Semiotics Institute who organise the 2nd International Congress of Numanities.

Within this framework we are interested in a circular model both as a reproduction process in biology and as our work during this congress. If reproduction is considered by scientists being a natural process of living organisms, our work during the congress is supposed to end up in feedback loops of shared information: we introduce our concept, listen for the conference presentations, evaluate them, produce some visual output and feedback it again into the conference in order to get further input.

As a theme for this workshop we use an analogous circular concept of bioremediation or phytomining, an ability of microorganisms, fungi, green plants, or their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition. We conceptualise and aesthetisise an autonomous biological system which could be useful for speculative future discourses. Similar systems might exist in spaceships, in the planned Mars colonies, uninhabited islands and similar environments. Collaborating with other invited artists and scientists we contribute our ideas on phytomining processes in order to discuss further concepts of anthropocene, interspecies/interorganisms communication, self-organisation and networking.

Among others participating artists and scientists: Brian Degger (AU/UK), Juan Pablo Díaz (CO/DE), Mindaugas Gapševičius (LT/DE), Matthias Roth (DE), Lina Rukevičiūtė (LT), John Tredinnick-Rowe (UK).