Art/Dissemination: Vanessa Munhoz • LISA Communication
Published: 04/08/2025
On April 10, 2025, the film "Holobiont Society" by Swiss artist Dominique Koch will be shown at the Laboratory of Image and Sound in Anthropology (LISA-USP), starting at 8 pm.
Comprising a visual exhibition that has been touring several countries, Holobiont Society delves into a complex set of issues related to hierarchies, power structures and concepts of coexistence, defined by the term holobiont.
Created by biologist Lynn Margulis, co-developer of the Gaia hypothesis, the concept refers to an integrated ecological and evolutionary unit formed by a host organism and all the microorganisms that live in association with it.
In the film, the holobiont is visualized through scientific images of corals, bacteria and other symbiotic organisms, which emerge on the screen along with an elaborate sound design, which works in synergy with excerpts from interviews with biologist, feminist and writer Donna Haraway, as well as philosopher and sociologist Maurizio Lazzarato and molecular biologist Scott Gilbert.
The screening is an outreach activity of the Anthropology, Environment and Biotechnodiversity Collective (CHAMA) and LISA, in addition to being part of the "Anthropology of Microorganisms" course, taught by postdoctoral fellow Leonardo Dupin.