Dominique Koch – Holobiont Society

Holobiont Society

Dominique Koch

Credit: Otto Felber

A dense artistic research project, Holobiont Society delves into a complex set of issues related to hierarchies, power structures, and concepts of coexistence – such as the eponymous ecological unit of the holobiont. Initially defined by Dr. Lynn Margulis in her 1991 book Symbiosis as a Source of Evolutionary Innovation, the concept collection of prokaryotes, all of which contribute in some way to the function of the whole. In Koch’s film, the holobiont is visualized by scientific images of corals, bacteria and other symbiotic organisms. The video’s elaborate sound design synergizes with fragments of interviews with the biologist, feminist, and acclaimed writer Donna Haraway and the philosopher and sociologist Maurizio Lazzarato. Interweaving image, sound and text in a multilayered assemblage, Holobiont Society challenges current mechanisms of domination and categorization, in favor of fresh modes of thinking and being in the world.

Credit: Otto Felber

About the artist

Dominique Koch (*1983 in Lucerne, Switzerland) lives and works between Basel and Paris. From 2004 to 2011 she studied photography at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig, Germany. Her multilayered installations can be described as discursive laboratories. In her practice, the artist integrates various fields of research to form intricate networks of knowledge, in which philosophy, molecular biology, neo-Marxism, and science fiction meet. Her solo exhibitions include “Holobiont Society” at CAN, Centre d’art Neuchâtel (2017), “Maybe We Should Rejuvenate the Words rather than the Bodies” at Rinomina, Paris (2016), as well as “Beyond Chattering and Noise” at Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris (2015). Amongst her most recent group shows are “Protozone: Contamination/Resilience”, Shedhalle Zürich (2020), “WE HYBRIDS!“, Istituto Svizzero di Roma (2020), “Mycelium as Lingua Franca”, A Tale of a Tub Rotterdam (2019), „Trees of Life“, Frankfurter Kunstverein (2019) “Futurs Incertains“, Musée d’Art de Pully (2019), “An Eye Unruled”, Swissnex San Francisco (2019).