Hacking the Molecular

With the advent of industrial capitalism, synthetic molecules have been produced at an alarming and relentless pace since the mid-19th century. They now permeate every sphere of the planet: From the Mariana Trench to entire populations of birds, frogs and fish that do not produce viable offspring, these microscopic molecules are characterized by unprecedented environmental toxicity, dramatic planetary changes and collective species mutations.

But what does it mean if our bodies can be industrially modulated and our sex, our reproduction, are not as fixed and unruly as we have been told? How do we situate our bodies, identities and fears in the midst of a toxic and alienating environment? And above all, how can we overcome old notions of the normative body to breed new subjectivities that embrace all modes of being?

Questions like these are central to Mary Maggic's artistic work. For her lab module, Mary Maggic will invite people to work together on queering toxic biopolitics. They will focus on bio-hacking and accomplices who, like themselves, are methodically and strategically inspired by the work of critical, queer and xenofeminist artists* collectives such as the Critical Art Ensemble, subRosa, TransHackFeminism and Gynepunk.