MetaMorphosis

MetaMorphosis is a publication in collaboration with Symbiotic Lab.

This publication is not a textbook about insects and their way of life. Rather, it aims to understand humans as part of an assemblage of human and non-human actors that is always already in the process of becoming. In addition to specific ideas on how to counteract the fatal extinction of species, this volume brings together contributions that stimulate the reader’s curiosity through artistic, poetic, or philosophical approaches. This interdisciplinary attempt stems from our conviction that change cannot be initiated solely through the presentation and understanding of imperatives.

To grasp what has been lost to climate change and what will be lost in the future, we also need to engage aesthetically and effectively with the world in which we live. Thus, with this publication, we want to suggest artistic and poetic strategies as allies of the sciences, which have long been alarmingly pointing to the world’s catastrophic situation. In doing so, we seek to find ways of making the urgency to act now tangible through the whole body.

This anthology follows the logic of the metamorphosis cycle. The artists, authors, theorists, and scientists represented in this book, with their artistic positions and their thinking, allow for diverse approaches to the topic of metamorphosis, far beyond the context of entomology.

Contributors: Julian Charrière, Kate Chen, Monika Dorniak, Felipe Duque, Nikolaus Eckhard, Leoni Fischer, Richard Frater, Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Lea Grebe, Henrik Håkansson, Xaver Hirsch, Fabian Knecht, Jakob Kukula, Jakob Kudsk Steensen , Niklas Liebetrau, Swantje Martach, Ben Meerwein , Esteban Menares, Prof. Dr. Michael Ohl, Janosch Reiter, Anna Ridler, Julia Sommerfeld, Symbiotic Spaces

As Symbiotic Lab we bring together our different expertises in the field of art, design and science under a professional framework. In formats such as exhibitions, symposia or workshops, collected knowledge is communicated and the qualifications intertwine repeatedly in different ways. The knowledge gained is partly translated into concrete applications and products.We work and research intensively on the interconnection between humans and the environment, actively pursuing a planet - centric design approach. The main focus is on urban spaces, where we look for ways to improve the relationship between us and our environment. The goal is to build resilient ecosystems through smart symbioses and regenerative and circular structures, helping the city to achieve a better quality of life.

Editor in Chief: Leoni Fischer
Art Direction: Maximilian Mauracher
MetaMorphosis Project Lead: Jakob Kukula
Photos by Theresa Maria Forthaus