Abstract
Bioart Coven is an international collective of artists, activists and hackers; witches, witchcraft enthusiasts and feminists; scientists, researchers and healthcare workers—all of whom gather around a powerful, niche set of sociopolitical interests best described as technofemininst witchcraft. Bioart Coven evolved through a recurring five-week online course offered by the author through the School of Machines, Making, and Make-Believe (Berlin) in 2021. The course explored alternative witchcraft histories presented by feminist social scientists, along with contemporary recontextualizations by artists whose practices are rooted in posthuman ecofeminism. Participants were led in hands-on activities such as fermentation, microbiology protocols and DIY labware-making in their own kitchens. The course(s) culminated with collaboratively designed, co-performed closing rituals. The Bioart Coven name gives a nod to Bioart Kitchen; Art, Feminism and Technoscience by Lindsay Kelley (2016, IB Tauris). In her book, Kelley touches on the history of domestic labour and its role in sci-tech development, revisited through a feminist lens. However, Kelley doesn’t mention or allude to witches, though so many of us have worked from our kitchens. The figure of the witch, intimately linked with the birth, development, and socioeconomic expansion of industrial technologies necessitates a chapter in the full story. Bioart Coven members have engaged as a collective to co-author a living Manifesto, shaped using an adapted ‘exquisite corpse’ technique. The manifesto allows for the enduring development of a diverse, shared vision and call to action. This paper shares the most recent version of the manifesto, and the story of Bioart Coven’s co-evolution.
Presenters
WhiteFeather HunterStudent, PhD, The University of Western Australia, Western Australia, Australia
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
New Media, Technology and the Arts
KEYWORDS
Witchcraft, Biotechnology, Technofeminism, DIY Bio, Online Communities
