"Life Cycle of a Common Weed"
in "More Than Representation" group exhibition

The exhibition explore the possibilities of alliances and resistance in a more-than-human world. The more we encounter the consequences of a dualistic perception of the human as superior to their environment — in the form of climate change, pandemics, genocides, or energy crises — the more urgent it becomes to continue the critique of this worldview within broader contexts. The project asks if alliances could be sought in places that Western imagination has failed to reach. Fungi already assist in logistics, artificial intelligence helps detect tumors, and bacteria are used to clean oil spills in the oceans. Yet the question arises: to what extent can we truly speak of alliances? Are these relationships reciprocal when the very representation of more-than-human entities remains contested? Can there be alliance without representation?

With the destabilization of the modern conception of the human subject also comes the reformation of various disciplines and social groups — often with conflicting interests. In the 21st century, not only corporations but also a lake or a car can acquire legal personhood. Could the transformation of this fundamental legal concept reinforce, or conversely, destabilize existing paradigms within the European context? Centered around the intertwined categories of alliance, representation, and ownership, the exhibition wants to bring together artists, researchers, and collectives to explore the limits and possibilities of living in a shared world and to imagine new or forgotten forms of belonging.