Medialab-Matadero Madrid

Synthetic Imaginaries exhibition cycle: Microbial Cosmologies Microbial Cosmologies presents three audiovisual works by Finnish artist Jenna Sutela, who engages with biological and computational systems, such as bacteria and artificial neural networks, to unravel the interconnections between humans, microbes, and machines. The works, Holobiont, Milky Ways and nimiia cétïi, explore the symbiotic relationship between humans and bacteria, as well as the influence of microorganisms on our consciousness and perception of the world. In Holobiont, Sutela highlights the bacteria Bacillus subtilis in a kind of creation myth. This bacteria, common in fermented foods like Japanese nattō, is depicted as playing a key role in the origins of life, suggesting life may have arisen from interstellar microbial contaminations. Milky Ways focuses its interest on the breast-gut-brain connection. Sutela examines how breast milk transfers microbial and cognitive worlds to newborns, drawing from current research on human digestion and the complex interactions between gut bacteria...