SODA WORKS 2018

Name is a place of investment. When institutions invest in a name, they continue this investment into the future. They want
to prove to the world and convince themselves that this name is worth investing in. In a project, the ideas and artistic work do
not have that much importance, but the name makes the project important. The signature. The brand. These are what make
the product valid. The name is one and unique, and it signifies only one artist. If the name is valid enough, it will be the preferable
choice of product for most of the audience who refer to a festival program. This name becomes trustworthy because
it is responsible for the whole artwork and its process. Here appears a crucial question: Is an artwork really made by one
person? If not, as we claim, then how is it possible to put a name on an artwork if a work is never done by one individual?
Specifically, one human?
Bacteria have an enormous impact on our feelings as well as our thinking processes. What does it mean when one says:
“I thought about it, this is my idea”. Thinking processes are collective, involving hosts and guests. They always transpire
with the assistance of others within an ecosystem. There is nothing that fully belongs to us. As humans, we cannot claim our
authorship. Bacteria always participate in all parts of our life. And bacteria knew this already, before us. Of course one
response to this would be to say: “I am thinking with my bacteria”. But can we say that bacteria exclusively belong to us?
Let’s hold this question for a moment.
The first contact with bacteria happens during the birth. The womb is sterile. The amniotic sac and fluid that surrounds the
baby is a pristine environment devoid of bacteria or other microbial agents in order to protect the growing baby which still
doesn’t have a fully developed immune system. A baby’s first exposure to bacteria starts during birth in their mother’s vagina.
This is the bacterial first stamp we receive as we enter the world, which then continues through skin-to-skin contact with
our mother and our new environment. This stamp becomes our ecosystem that stays with us till death, but with certain
changes that depend on our relationships, the places we live and our hygiene, etc. The transmission of bacteria is a fact and
cannot be questioned. The time spend with other humans and non-humans, especially when intimate, slowly changes or
moves the borders of our primary ecosystem.
e-monster-ate!
It is impossible to trace from whom or where new microbes have come as they appear in our bodies. They are not ‘our
bacteria’. They choose to inhabit our environment, and just as quickly as they came to us, they can leave. The human body
is a space of transition, like a bus stop, a train platform, an airport: space that does not belong to anybody. The passengers
change their location, they come and go. We are like a landscape, so even though some bacteria may live with us forever, it’s
hard to imagine that they have any feelings or sentiment towards ‘the land’, nor any possessive ambitions toward it.
We must ask ourselves if we want to be a land or a residency space.