“The life of any living being does not begin with its birth; it is much older. Our own life, which we imagine to be sealed within us in the most intimate and incommunicable way, does not come from us. It is not exclusive or personal. It has been transmitted to us by others, it has animated other bodies, other pieces of matter than our own. And those who passed this life down to us were not only human. Our humanity is no native or autonomous product. It is an extension and a metamorphosis of another kind of life.” – Emanuele Coccia
We redefine the role and position of humans in relation to the environment and other species.
The human body, perceived as a *holobiont*, becomes the focal point of a corporeal, auditory, and visual journey where the anthropocentric narrative is dismantled and reimagined.
Imagining a scenario of the imminent end of current socio-economic systems and working primarily with Butoh dance technique, this performative installation explores choreographic/performative languages that adapt the body and movement to the reality of coexistence.
The concept of a holobiont has become an important approach in biology for understanding interactions between organisms and their environment. Holobionts are organisms formed by a host and its associated community of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, and viruses). This community of organisms is tightly connected and interdependent, influencing the host’s health and functioning. The human body is, in turn, a holobiont.
Holobiont merges Butoh dance with concepts from environmental sciences, botany, and neuroscience, creating an installation that brings together multidisciplinary international artists from Romania, Spain, and the USA/Netherlands.
Artistic Concept: Plastic Art Performance Collective (GCV, Alina Tofan)
Choreography: Synaptic Butoh / Lucía Callén
Performers: Teresa Martí Romaní, Lucía Callén, Alina Tofan, Porter Ellerman
Music and Composition: Porter Ellerman
Violinist: Teresa Martí Romaní
Sculpture / Scenography: Larisa Tofan
BIO Costume Design: GCV
Project Graphics: Ioana Buraga
Let’s discover together a new language of coexistence! #holobionts
Event pictures by Alexandra Cojocaru
This project is coordinated by the Plastic Art Performance Collective, an artistic group under the Macaia Cultural Association, which draws attention to collective wastefulness and issues such as environmental crises, plastic pollution, industrial pollution, climate change, and abusive interventions like illegal deforestation, while exploring a speculative future through an artistic lens.
Media Partners: Daily Magazine, AIVI Media, IQ Ads, Știrea Verde, România Pozitivă, Empower Artists, Revista Arta, Radio România Cultural, Munteanu Recomandă, Cărturești.
Partners: Space for Nature, Synaptic Butoh, Developing Art
The project is co-financed by AFCN.
This project does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or the way its results may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding beneficiary.
