inti gallardo

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Symbiotic Assemblages investigates the concepts of symbiopoetics and symbiopolitics

through the materiality of moving images. The work merges human bodies with lichens—

multicellular organisms formed through the symbiosis between a fungus (mycobiont) and an

alga (phycobiont)—whose cooperation allows them to survive in extreme environments. Using

digital 3D scans projected onto 16mm film, the installation creates a hybrid assemblage that

dissolves the boundaries between human and non-human entities, challenging traditional

hierarchies and suggesting new forms of coexistence.

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The exhibition space features five 16mm projectors that bring digital images back into the

physical realm, emphasizing the transfer process as an act of materialization. This technical

choice responds to a historical phenomenon: after the advent of digital processes, film

formats and their production techniques were displaced by the industry. In response,

filmmakers and experimental artists began gathering to preserve and replicate the knowledge

associated with celluloid, exploring the physical and chemical possibilities of matter.

Collectives such as CEIS8 in Chile—of which I am a member—and other independent film

labs worldwide keep this practice alive through collective learning and cooperation.

Conceptually, the work draws on the idea that assemblages are not static entities but

dynamic systems that evolve over time.

 

As Manuel De Landa argues, changes within an

assemblage arise from the interactions between its components, generating new forms and

structures that cannot be understood in isolation but through the emergent dynamics of their

relationships. This concept resonates with Donna Haraway's reflection in Staying with the

Trouble: "We are at stake to each other... We are all lichens, so we can be scraped off the

rocks by the Furies, who still erupt to avenge crimes against the Earth. Alternatively, we can

join in the metabolic transformations between and among rocks and critters, for living and

dying well."

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In this context, Symbiotic Assemblages offers a poetic exploration of light as both medium

and nourishment, revealing the interconnectedness between the photosynthetic memory of

plants and the visual language of cinema. By merging lichens from different parts of the world

with human bodies, the work invites us to imagine new forms of collaboration and

coexistence, shifting the focus from hegemonic narratives to micro-perspectives that

emphasize the collective and the interconnected.