The Alien Agencies Collective grew out of a collaborative vision from an awarded 3-month residency at MOCA Toronto, in the Ontario Science Centre Studios.

The Alien Agencies collective:

We are a group of artists who wish to produce radical artworks with life as our medium.  As a connective thread between our works, we envision a mix of artworks that focus on site-specific non-human e.g. microbial and mycelial exchanges that will take the form of displayed photographs, sculptural forms and participatory workshops.

With a collective emphasis on ‘alien’ or unfamiliar artistic practices, we will use the OSC/MOCA residency as an experiment towards the production of new sentiments, sensations and interconnections, highlighting the aesthetic agencies of non-human entities and our entanglements with them.

Alien Agencies Collective is:

Nicole Clouston: https://www.nicoleclouston.com
Günes-Hélène Isitan: https://www.gunesisitan.com/
Joel Ong: http://www.arkfrequencies.com/
myself and
Elaine Whittaker: https://www.elainewhittaker.ca

We will be working/exploring/experimenting at MOCA alongside artist, Dornith Doherty starting March 15th-June 15th, 2019 

 

 

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As of October 1st, 2018 I am no longer a member of Bio.Chrome.

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BIO CHROME is a collective of artists based in the UK, US and Canada. All Artists are exploring the collaboration of Art, Science & Technology within their practice. The Collective was founded in 2017 at an artist residency run by artist Alexis Williams, Art Ayatana.

Artists in collective:

Robyn Crouch – Mellissa Fisher  –  Shavon Madden – Tracey Maurice –
Tosca Teran – Alexis Williams

As a collective they are running exhibitions and workshops globally, starting with the event ‘From Cell to Canvas: Creative Explorations of The Microscopic’ at the ArtSci Salon in Toronto on the 9th February and workshops run by 3 artists from the collective on the 10th February 2018.

Evening of talks description:
From the complex forms of the cell to the colonies created by the microbiota; from the undetectable chemical reactions activated by enzymes and natural processes to the environmental information captured through data visualization, the five artists presenting tonight have developed a range of very diverse practices all inspired by the invisible, the undetectable and the microscopic. 
We invite you to an evening of artist talks and discussion on the creative process of exploring the microscopic and using living organisms in art, on its potentials and implication for science and its popular dissemination, as well as on its ethics.

Please, RSVP here https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/from-cell-to-canvas-tickets-42621911284

The Event was followed by a workshop with

Mellissa Fisher, Shavon Madden and Julia Krolik 
Feb. 10, 2018
11:00am-5:00pm
at Hacklab
please, RSVP here 

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/from-cell-to-canvas-workshop-tickets-42622255313

Design My Microbiome 
Artist Mellissa Fisher invites participants to mold parts of her body in agar to create their own microbial version of her, alongside producing their own microbial portrait with painting techniques.
Cooking with the Invasive 
Artist Shavon Madden invites participants to discuss invasive species like garlic mustard and cook invasive species whilst exploring, do species which we define and brand as invasive simply have no benefits?
Introduction to Biological Staining 
Artist & Scientist Julia Krolik invites participants to learn about 3 different types of biological staining and have a chance to try staining procedures.

 

Bios:

Robyn Crouch
The symbolic imagery that comes through Robyn’s work invites one’s gaze inward to the cellular realms. There, one discovers playful depictions of chemical processes; the unseen lattice upon which our macro¬cosmic world is constructed. Technological advancements create windows into this molecular realm, and human consciousness acts as the interface between the seen and the unseen worlds.
In her functional ceramic work, the influence of Chinese and Japanese tea ceremony encourages contem¬plation and appreciation of a quiet moment. The viewer-participant can lose their train of thought while meandering through geometry and biota, con¬nected by strands of double-helical DNA.
A flash of recognition, a momentary mirror.

Mellissa Fisher
Mellissa Fisher is a British Bio Artist based in Kent. Her practice explores the invisible world on our skin by using living organisms and by creating sculptures made with agar to show the public what the surface of our skin really looks like. She is best known for her work with bacteria and works extensively with collaborators in microbiology and immunology. She has exhibited an installation “Microbial Me” with Professor Mark Clements and Dr Richard Harvey at The Eden Project for their permanent exhibition “The Invisible You: The Human Microbiome”.The installation included a living portrait in bacteria of the artists face as well as a time-lapse film of the sculpture growing.

Shavon Madden
Shavon Madden is a Brampton based artist, specializing in sculptural, performance and instillation based work exploring the social injustices inflicted on the environment and its creatures. Her work focuses on challenging social-environmental and political ethics, through the embodied experience and feelings of self. She graduated from the University of Toronto Specializing in Art and Art History, along with studies in Environmental Science and will be on her way to Edinburgh for her MFA. Shavon has had works shown at Shelly Peterson, the Burlington Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Mississauga, among many others.
Website: www.greenheartartistry.com

Alexis Williams
Alexis Williams (A.K.A. Ember Erebus) is a Canadian artist working mainly in video and print. She currently experiments with sound and sculpture. One of her sound pieces was selected to be in the 2014 Marrakech Biennale. She has a love for biology and frequently uses natural materials like mushroom spores, butterfly dust and spider webs to experiment with untraditional print-making techniques. Her work often highlights the kinship of Art, Science and Mysticism. In 2013 she had two solo shows of a collection of monumental sacred geometry made with graphite rubbings of man hole covers. Her most recent solo show was a collection of Shamanic masks that showcased art and science alliances as contemporary magic.