Javier Jaén Studio
Science Friction
Life among Companion Species
Campaign for Barcelona Contemporary Culture Center.

SCIENCE FRICTION
Living Among Companion Species
12 June — 28 November 2021

Is it possible to imagine other earthly stories? Can we conceive of other ways of living among different species? This exhibition explores these issues with the help of a selection of works of art and popular science. It proposes a change of mentality and sensitivity that questions the supremacy of the human species, opting for a view of the world understood as an ecosystem where all the planet’s species coexist.

“If, as Haraway and Margulis argue, the whole Earth is alive, it is time to abandon the myth of supremacy and reconnect with our many earthly companions.”, Maria Ptqk

The starting point for the exhibition “Science Friction. Life among Companion Species” is the scientific evidence that all terrestrial species are linked by symbiotic, interdependent relationships. In nature there are no autonomous or independent organisms; we are all part of mutually integrated ecosystems. Species make up a network of collaborations, mutations and exchanges in which we coexist as companions.

This paradigm shift implies that the human species is not exceptional or superior. Ultimately, symbiosis questions human supremacy: the idea that the whole of nature and all living beings are at the service of our well-being.

To narrate this change in perspective, the exhibition draws on the work of two key figures in contemporary scientific culture: Donna Haraway and Lynn Margulis. The two have in common the importance they accord to symbiosis and collaboration between species, and their interest in communication and scientific narrative.

In the framework of the City and Science Biennial 2021.

Curators: Maria Ptqk

Music: Oriol Luna