Entangled Matter
©2021-2026
Boundaries between the animate and the inanimate are dissolving. Hybrid materials assemble emergent molecular architectures that lie beyond natural evolution. New macromolecules sustain novel bacterial strains capable of metabolising synthetic compounds and converting waste into bioavailable nutrients, eroding any clear distinction between “natural” and “artificial”. Plastics, once confined to landfills and oceans, now penetrate mammalian circulatory systems. PFAS accumulate in cell membranes, altering fluidity and signalling pathways. Trace polymer fragments appear in human organs, showing that synthetic matter can cross into cells and the bloodstream, potentially disrupting metabolism. Across generations these intrusions may reshape epigenetic codes, influencing development, immunity and behaviour. Insects host gut microbiota that digest micro plastics; trees capture airborne nanofibres; marine plankton incorporate synthetic lipids into their membranes.
Humanity, once the architect of the planet’s chemical inventory, now participates in an uncontrolled experiment. Materials designed for convenience have become agents of irreversible change, reshaping ecosystems and possibly the genetic makeup of all organisms. As material boundaries fade, the future will be defined not by a pure dichotomy of nature versus technology, but by their inseparable entanglement.
My project reflects this through found objects and arrangements in which organic and artificial substances intertwine: photographic RC paper buried and decomposed by microorganisms, images soaked in waste oil, and installations in the studio and in natural environments. These constellations juxtapose organic decay with synthetic persistence, highlighting how the two realms now co evolve and inviting viewers to reconsider their relationship to a material world where “natural” and “man made” no longer hold.
