The Greek word metabolē originally meant ‘to change’ and, literally, ‘to throw over’. The exhibition investigates the understanding of ‘metabolism’ in contemporary art in a dialogue with philosophical and scientific research beyond Eurocentric rationalization. Biological metabolism is a process that constitutes living beings in continuous exchange with their environment. Photosynthesis, for instance, struggles to capture and condense solar energy at the basis of the food chain that sustains the whole biosphere. For the parasitic relation of terrestrial life with the outside cosmos, the French philosopher Michel Serres in his book “The Parasite” once defined the sun as our energetic horizon and the very ‘ultimate capital’.
Artists: Pedro Barateiro, Ricardo Basbaum, Paolo Bottarelli, Anne Dukhee Jordan, Wietske Maas, Amina Menia, Yves Mettler, Pratchaya Phintong, Timur Si-Qin, Sun Xun, Hakan Topal, Clemens von Wedemeyer among others