Interview with Christina Stadlbauer

What are the potentials and difficulties of  art and science collaborations, and working across and beyond disciplines?

Christina: There is often a general misunderstanding between the “hard sciences” and the creative artist – almost like a stereotypical expectation of the “other”.

There are communication issues with vocabulary, but also with the aim of the work – that often in the sciences is functional, or targeted at a result, whereas in the arts it might be a vision that triggers the work or an aesthetic outcome that is wished for or much more process oriented and open ended. On the other hand, the potential is also exactly in this discrepancy. The combination of a scientific mind and an artistic vision might lead to surprising outcomes, both during the work process, and the presentation of the works. The approaches can be complementary, if both sides respect each other as being different, but equally competent.

Have you ever experienced any conflict with the scientific laboratory protocols and/or health and safety policies of the institutions you have collaborated with?  Has it required any change in the direction of the research or  at the  initial plan? How do you usually negotiate with the possible restraints or limitations which might apply in such circumstances?

Christina: My personal situation is somewhat particular, as I work as an artist, but I have an education as a scientist. I studied chemistry and obtained a PhD, therefore, the lab, the protocols, the safety regulations are very familiar to me. In that sense, I can benefit from my background. When I started to work in the lab artistically, it was at times even challenging to let go of the “common practices” that are required in the lab. These habits sometimes hamper a free creative flow, and a thinking outside of conditioned gestures and protocols that I learned so profoundly.

It takes sometimes a bit of getting used to each other, but my experience is that many lab environments are happy to host unusual, artistic ideas. They quickly understand that they also get something out of it, like for example more visibility or promotion, or an exhibition open to a public that is different from who is usually reached. It also became more accepted, maybe even “hip” to do trans-disciplinary projects and science-art collaborations.

The danger I see there is commodification - from both sides.  Artists can get commodified as “jumping boards to make the lab work public”. On the other hand, scientists and labs can get commodified by artists and reduced to aesthetically interesting environments.

Based on your own experience, what kind of long-term transformations might be needed at the  infrastructural level to support and encourage trans-, post-, para-disciplinarity in art&science or biological art practices in a more sustainable way?

Christina: The most important aspect is an approach of equality, meaning that each discipline, be it artist or scientist or philosopher, ect. have their competence and are to be taken seriously. This respectful approach has to be reflected in distribution of funding as well as in how the different players are accepted within the project.

I think another key to successful trans-discipinary practices is to allow a process-based outcome to be accepted as a result. The collaboration, the conversations, the designing, the work in progress - these are all aspects that must be assigned a value. They are maybe more important than a tangible, sellable,  “exhibitable” result, when it comes to trans-disciplinary work. At these edges a learning can happen, and a development and a longer term change can manifest. If we only hunt for products, hard facts and publications / exhibitions, we are caught in a trap that steers away from creativity and free thinking and from establishing real equal collaborations.

What kind of challenges and limitations could  migrating to the digital realm in these pandemic bring to the  field of art & science, the bioart works which are heavily dependent on materiality and the biological  matter,  living organisms...etc?

Christina: My sense is that we are already getting used to being online a lot. The last months of restrictions in terms of physical proximity have created a parallel world with its own etiquette, its own comfort and discomfort. It requires a different type of “presence” that can easier be faked than physical presence. On the other hand, it allows participation in an entirely different way. The world is getting (even) smaller in a sense and contributing to a conference on the other side of the planet becomes very easy. The biggest loss for me is the embodied experience, the smell, the sense we have when entering a space, physically, the tactile and haptic input. We cannot (yet) replace this by digital means.

What kind of changes or challenges (conceptual, ethical, and practical) could be expected in the field of biological arts and art & science in relation to  the paradigm shift coronavirus pandemic have brought to (life) sciences?

Christina: I hope we have not reached the final point in this development! In the last years, the wish to become more virtual was very strong. Technical developments, increased internet coverage, uncountable apps and online platforms – this all points to an advanced virtual existence that we now get a chance to apply on an everyday basis. I think we are in the middle of a huge change that concerns our identies, our understanding of reality and our availability. The pandemic has pushed this development forward and suddenly we might find ourselves more online than offline. I think it is important to stay alert to the changes this is triggering in our lives that we might not be immediately aware of.

What kind of changes or challenges (conceptual, ethical, and practical)could be expected in the field of biological arts and art & science in relation to  the paradigm shift coronavirus pandemic have brought to (life) sciences?

Christina: People who have never given any thought to viruses suddenly have knowledge about infectious diseases, antibodies, PCR tests. Many of these concepts belong to the realm of biology, medicine, microbiology and a certain understanding of these disciplines became common knowledge.

What alliances can be found within the context of life, death, care, non/living actants, pandemic crisis and justice?

Christina: These concepts are complex and therefore people tend to avoid thinking about them. With a pandemic in our faces, we are forced to give attention to these issues, also because we are constantly reminded by the media about them. There is an understanding that we are part of a larger community and individualism is not a helpful concept anymore in order to go through this crisis together. How far we will be able to understand that our “togetherness” does not end with humanity, but we are connected to our environment, other species of the planet, vegetation as well as oceans, rivers, the atmosphere remains to be seen. Although we are trying to convince ourselves of the virus being our enemy that we have to fight at all costs, we cannot entirely separate ourselves from the virus. Maybe we have come to a point where humanity has to fundamentally rethink its role in “nature” and we must redesign our future in order to accommodate all existing entities that we share the planet with.

Have there been any particular influences of Covid-19 restrictions & reactions to your artistic research and your collaboration with other practitioners/institutions?

Christina: The crisis is keeping our brains busy and many of us are distracted from our usual work. I had a strong reaction to the lockdown in March/April that made me sleepless. I created a series of videos that helped me to transform my questions and throughts about the pandemic. As soon as these videos were finished, I was invited to show them, in a shop window, so that they could be watched from a safe social distance.

Many institutions are forced to cancel or postpone, but in my experience everybody is trying to find creative solutions to continue under the restrictions. They might come out of desperation but might lead to inventive new ways of sharing, publishing and presenting.

How has the Covid-19 changed the  form and format of art&science collaborations and  research networking activities?

Christina: A lot was moved online, and we are lucky to have these possibilities. A lot was cancelled and will be postponed if possible. A lot of collaborations shifted, both in terms of contents and how we work together. There was an initial slower pace, in the spring, but to my feeling, we all work more than ever, maybe to keep ourselves distracted?

What would creativity mean to you, could you please describe in three words?

Christina:Free flow / Liberty / Radical, regardless of the consequences