Abstract

Bio artworks tend towards social reflection, conveying political and societal criticism through the combination of artistic and scientific processes. Some bio artworks also challenge to subvert hegemonic political imaginaries. In this article, focusing on the curation of a bio artwork and making an ethnographic research based on my participatory observation, I suggest a new conception of contemporary curatorial practice, ‘paratactical curation’, which aims to create performative political imaginaries and alternative futures. The article focuses on The Invisible Life, a series of a bio artwork of Joseph A. DeGiorgis and Ayse Gul Suter. This series was exhibited in Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair – Plugin New Media Section that I have curated in 2015. The main discussion is developed by paying attention to the giant squid axon work, in which the article responds to the emergence of a new political realm that reflects the communication problems of post-control societies: connection failures, memory loss and noise.