Cosmotechnics (original) (raw)

This winter, you are invited to explore the worlds of Cosmotechnics. This new exhibition delves into the relationship between culture and technology through the lens of four Latin American artists and collectives.

Atractor Studio + Semantica, Patricia Domínguez and Rebeca Romero challenge the idea that technology is the same everywhere and across all cultures. They draw inspiration from plant life to reimagine technology as evolving and ever-changing, reflecting and respecting our diverse societies, ecologies and cultures.

In the exhibition, technology transforms into an ally for resilience, resistance, and growth, whereby the concept of 'cosmotechnics' is put into practice. This term was coined by the Chinese philosopher Yuk Hui, where ‘cosmos’ refers to locality and ‘techne’ to technological creations. Hui argues that technology’s true potential lies in its alignment with local cosmologies —spiritual, ecological, and cultural understandings of the world.

Using sculpture, video, and sound to create immersive installations, the artists reveal how local ways of thinking and sensing can offer multiple perspectives on technology. Each artwork becomes a portal to rethink our relationship with technology, using plants as a guide.

This exhibition is curated by Beatrice Zaidenberg, our Curator-in-Residence.

Atractor Studio, On Vegetal Politics (2022) and Botánica Transgénica (2022) in Cosmotechnics (2024) curated by Beatrice Zaidenberg. Installation view at FACT Liverpool. Photography by Rob Battersby

Atractor Studio + Semantica present their award-winning video and sound works, A Tale of Two Seeds, On Vegetal Politics and Botánica Transgénica. Based in Colombia and the UK, both collectives create artworks to visualise natural events and scientific ideas. These works focus on the problems caused by industrial farming: specifically, how companies change plant genes (genetic modification) and take control of seeds and land in Colombia, leading to colonisation and exploitation of native plants and local knowledge. In 2023, the presented works received the coveted Golden Nica at The Prix Ars Electronica, the world’s longest-running media art competition.

Patricia Domínguez, Tres Lunas Más Abajo (Three Moons Below) (2024) and Matrix Vegetal (2022) in Comsotechnics (2024) curated by Beatrice Zaidenberg. Installation view at FACT Liverpool. Photography by Rob Battersby

Patricia Domínguez, born and based in Chile, combines her research on plants, resource extraction, and healing practices to create sculptures, videos, and writings that imagine more sustainable and compassionate ways of living. In Cosmotechnics, Patricia presents two works side by side for the first time, developed during her dual residency between CERN in Switzerland and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) astronomy facilities in Chile. Tres Lunas Más Abajo (Three Moons Below) (2024) and Matrix Vegetal (2022) reflect Patricia’s ongoing exploration of the energy that connects all living things and objects on Earth.

Rebeca Romero, Chrysalis (2024) in Cosmotechnics (2024) curated by Beatrice Zaidenberg. Installation view at FACT Liverpool. Photography by Rob Battersby

Rebeca Romero presents a newly commissioned installation for Cosmotechnics. Born in Peru and based in London, her work blends pre-Columbian iconography with modern technology to ask how new technologies can revive ancient belief systems erased from history. In Rebeca’s futuristic sculpture, Chrysalis (2024), she combines ancient wisdom with video mapping, 3D scanning and printing to form a speculative allyship between plants and humans. Rebeca was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2021.More recently, she was awarded the OGR Award for effectively conveying complex relationships between art, technology, and innovation.

Header image: Cosmotechnics curated by Beatrice Zaidenberg at FACT Liverpool (2024). Photography by Rob Battersby