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Symbiotica Vol. 2:

Webs of Coordination

2024

Augmented Reality Installation

15'00''

Co-creators: Juan Ferrer and Natalia Cabrera

Symbiotica vol. 2: The Webs of Coordination is an Augmented Reality interactive installation that gathers multiple players to weave symbiosis into each other and become a lichen, a pioneering organism made out of green algae, fungal mycelium, and cyanobacteria

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Primarily based on the research of biologist Lynn Margulis, we get inspired by the collaboration between species from different Kingdoms of life to generate a new being that performs a pioneering symbiosis. Lichens not only allowed plants and animals to populate the Earth but also emerge as a metaphoric figure for a new understanding of the ‘individual’.

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In Symbiotica Vol. 2, players embody microorganisms that need to create a lichen; by communicating to each other, capturing volatile nutrients, and weaving digital threads, these coordinated interactions will allow the lichen formation. Soredia, the “seed” of the lichen, guides the players through the story, telling them the instructions of each stage, conceptual ideas about evolution, and the importance of mutual support within the ecosocial tissues we inhabit to not become extinct.

 

In the designated space's center is a sculpture with which the players need to interact. It symbolizes the rock where the lichen will ultimately grow. Once the players go into the experience, they will first need to choose their character. In the first stage, the players must gather water particles and leave them simultaneously in the sculpture. In the second stage, each player needs to catch different nutrients to feed the lichen. By the end, players become microscopic and weave their digital bodies into the sculpture, accompanied by the Symbiotica song in the background

Executive producer:

Selva González

Screenwriting, Art Direction: Juan Ferrer

Creative Technologist: Natalia Cabrera

Voice Actress, and

Music Composer:

AnaRosa Ibáñez

Scientific advisors:

Fungi Foundation,

Giuliana Furci,

Alejandro Huereca

POLITICS OF CARE​

 

EVOLUTION

SYMBIOSIS: MUTUALISM

 

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

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This prototype was developed during the Spatial Affairs: Extended Reality Experiences residency program, porganized by iart Basel, HEK Basel, Tabakalera, and Museum of Art & Photography Bangalore, and supported by Pro-Helvetia.

Showcased at

2024

2024

2024

Mix Brasil

Mesh Festival: Festival für Kunst und Technologie

Museum of Art & Photgraphy Bangalore

São Paulo, Brazil

Basel, Switzerland

Bangalore, India

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