METABOLICA

With METABOLICA, Thomas Feuerstein invites viewers into a world that explores the processes of life and metabolism—from the Industrial Revolution to contemporary and future developments, from the whaling industry and petrochemicals to utopian visions of biochemistry. In his work, scientific methods become an artistic practice and a new aesthetic. Living organisms such as algae and bacteria become collaborators, using their metabolic processes to create both new materials and narrative layers. Feuerstein transforms the MQ Freiraum into a molecular factory that combines apparatus-based installations, visual works, and literary elements into a multi-layered ensemble.

The five chapters of the METABOLICA series guide viewers through various stages of artistic and biological transformation. The series begins with MOBY DICK, where algae are cultivated in a large sculpture called HYDRA—a hybrid structure reminiscent of a whale, a submarine, and a photobioreactor. The algae (“Chlorella vulgaris”) produce fatty acids, the formation of which is facilitated by special nitrogen cycles and a repurposed oil pump, also named MOBY DICK.

In the second chapter, MRS & MR MOL, bacteria such as *Cupriavidus necator* play a central role. In a bioreactor, they metabolize the fatty acids from the algae and convert them into PHB (polyhydroxybutyrate), a bioplastic material that serves as the basis for the next artistic steps.

REFINERY, the third chapter, focuses on the extraction of PHB from bacterial biomass. The PHB obtained is fed into the 3D-printing machine ANACLE in the fourth chapter. The sculptures printed using this process grow like stalagmites, developing (unfinished) forms that reference both modern and contemporary sculpture as well as industrial and technological contexts.

The fifth chapter, WHOLE DEARTH CATALOG & GOOD ROTTEN GOODS, references the legendary “Whole Earth Catalog,” a counterculture magazine published by Stewart Brand between 1968 and 1972, and prompts a reflection on the shift from resource scarcity toward a visionary, circular economy. Here, PHB sculptures such as CRAWLER or FINNEGANS WHALE are not only created but also partially decomposed by bacteria in order to return them to the cycle. The connection between art, science, and sustainability becomes tangible in this process.

In METABOLICA, Thomas Feuerstein explores the connections between resource consumption, sustainability, and artistic creation. Here, art is not viewed as a finished product, but as part of an intellectual, emotional, and political process of transformation that extends far beyond symbolic and iconic representations. The exhibition opens up new perspectives on the pressing issues of our time and powerfully demonstrates how art and science can work together.

Curated by Verena Kaspar-Eisert.