The Earth suffers from metabolic disorders. Disruptions in natural cycles, global warming, and species extinction lead to an indigestibility of being (Marder 2019), where the planet’s metabolism becomes increasingly dysfunctional, akin to the “clogged pores of existence” (Marder 2019). In his essay On Art as Planetary Metabolism, Marder proposes an intriguing remedy: art as a form of metabolism, capable of counteracting these global dysfunctions. In this work-based essay, we examine selected contemporary works from the fields of Eco Art, Bio Art, Bio Design, and Socially Engaged Art to explore how these, in the context of Marder’s theory, can metabolically counteract the dysfunctions of planet Earth. The starting point is the publication’s central question: “How can biotechnologies and biomaterials shape and sustain habitats in extreme and space environments?” We focus on planet Earth as an extreme environment based on the symptoms of the climate crisis. At the centre of the investigation is the thesis that art, as a field of experimentation, can unite scientific and sociological findings, envision alternative realities of life and stimulate sustainable social transformation processes. This gives rise to the following questions: How can artistic explorations of biomaterials and biotechnologies sustainably shape living spaces in extreme environments, such as planet Earth? What can art works teach us about global metabolism? How can they integrate past knowledge, react to the present and sensitise us to the future? Materially, aesthetically, technically and ethically. For the work-based essay, we have selected four works that are the subject of our respective research. Following Marder’s theory, we assume that the works contain metabolic aesthetic moments that can lead to a stimulation of the global metabolism. The following works will be analysed: Life (from the Protocells Triptych) (2022) by artist Shoshanah Dubiner; Internal Burial Suit (since 2008) by Jae Rhim Lee; Fermenting Futures (2022) by Anna Dumitriu and Alex May; and Return to Sender (2022) by Nest Collective. Following this sequence, we describe each work and connect analytical insights with theoretical perspectives to build upon Marder’s ideas. Our essay is positioned within the theoretical discourses from the humanities on post-anthropocentrism, new materialism, and ecocentrism. In response to the multiple crises of the Anthropocene, these discourses advocate for a decentred view of the human being, seeing it as an integral part of a connected environment. Matter is understood as vibrant, possessing ‘intrinsic vitality’, with particular emphasis on its self- organization and emergence (Witzgall 2014). Therefore, we place the following theoretical sources alongside our works: Donna Haraway’s work ‘Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene (2016), ‘Metamporphosis. Life has many forms. A Philosophy of Transformation’ (2020) by Emanuele Coccia and ‘Degrowth and the Arts’ (2022) by Daphne Dragona.
