VIVIEN ROUSSEL: ‘asinhrona{kombuča}’

𝘃 𝗻𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗷𝘂 𝘀 𝗸𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗷𝗼 𝗽𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶 𝗰̌𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗸𝗮

𝗢𝗱𝗽𝗿𝘁𝗷𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝘇𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃𝗲 // 𝟮𝟬. 𝗷𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗼𝗯 𝟮𝟬𝗵
𝗥𝗮𝘇𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘃𝗮 // 𝟮𝟬. 𝗷𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿 𝗱𝗼 𝟲. 𝗳𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 @𝗠𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗹, 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝗷𝗲𝘃𝗮 𝟭 (𝟰. 𝗻𝗮𝗱.)

V okviru umetniškega raziskovanja biokibernetskih sistemov in biopolimerov Vivien Roussel v tokratnem projektu raziskuje odnose med človekom, strojnim zaznavanjem in živim mikrobnim organizmom. V projektu, ki tematizira tehnofilne življenjske oblike in računalniške sisteme, kombuča – simbiotska kultura bakterij in kvasovk (SCOBY) – prevzema vlogo liminalnega vmesnika, prek katerega stopamo v stik z nečloveškimi oblikami inteligence.

Živi sistemi, za razliko od ljudi, prostor in čas dojemajo na svojstveno drugačen način. Različne žviljenske oblike se razvijajo v sebi lastnem tempu, ki ga oblikujejo fizikalni zakoni, metabolični ritmi in senzorične omejitve. Biološko omejeno človeško zaznavanje ponuja le delno in pristransko razumevanje živega sveta. Sodobno računalništvo v veliki meri deduje te omejitve in daje prednost hitrosti, abstrakciji in nadzoru, medtem ko izključuje počasne, stohastične in materialne oblike kognicije.

V postavitvi ‘asinhrona {kombuča}’ s senzorji zaznana prisotnost obiskovalca sproža osvetljevanje kombuče in vpliva na njeno presnovo in bioelektrično aktivnost. Električna nihanja se neprekinjeno merijo in upodabljajo kot vizualizacija v realnem času – ki je hkrati znanstvena in hermenevtična. Z umikom obiskovalca svetloba zbledi, živi sistem pa se vrne k lastnim ritmom in ponovno umiri signal.

Kombuča tu ni pasivni substrat, temveč deluje kot živi rezervoar: prilagodljiv, nedeterministični sistem, ki dražljaje obdeluje skozi lastno notranjo dinamiko. Projekt, navdihnjen s kibernetiko in rezervoarskim računalništvom (reservoir computing), zavrača interakcijo, temelječo na ukazih, temveč spodbuja medsebojno uglaševanje. Ljudi in stroje vabi, da se prilagodijo časovnosti organizma, namesto da bi ga silili v izračunavanje po meri človeška. Kombuča se ne zgolj odziva na spremembe, temveč se z rastjo v njeni obliki kaže materialna sled preteklih interakcij – biološki spomin, v katerem debelina, tekstura in struktura beležijo kopičenje srečanj. Rast deluje kot živ arhiv, kjer je komputacija zapisana v snovi in ne v abstraktni kodi.

Avtor s projektom odpira liminalni prostor, kjer interakcija ne temelji več na prevladi ali optimizaciji, temveč na pogajanju med različnimi ravnmi življenja. Namesto komputacije po meri človeka avtor predlaga biokibernetiko kot sredstvo za zaznavanje, povezovanje in soobstoj z oblikami inteligence, ki delujejo onkraj človeškega razumevanja.

—ENG—

𝗩𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡 𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗟: ‘𝗮𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀{𝗸𝗼𝗺𝗯𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗮}’
𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻-𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

𝗘𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 // 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, 𝗮𝘁 𝟴 𝗽.𝗺.
𝗘𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 // 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬 – 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟲, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 @𝗠𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗹, 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗿𝗷𝗲𝘃𝗮 𝟭 (𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿)

The project ‘asynchronous{kombucha}’ is a biocybernetic installation exploring the entanglement between human presence, machine sensing, and a living microbial organism. Situated between technophilic life forms and computational systems, the work proposes kombucha—a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY)—as a liminal interface through which to engage non-human forms of intelligence.

Living systems do not inhabit the same space-time as humans. Each scale of life unfolds within its own temporal regime, shaped by physical laws, metabolic rhythms, and sensory constraints. Human perception, bounded by its biological scale, offers only a partial and biased understanding of the living world. Contemporary computation largely inherits these limitations, privileging speed, abstraction, and control while excluding slow, stochastic, and material forms of cognition.

In the installation, the presence of a visitor is detected and translated into light. This illumination acts as a proxy for the human body, altering the metabolic and bioelectrical activity of the kombucha. Electrical fluctuations are continuously measured and rendered as a real-time visualization—both scientific and hermeneutic. When the human withdraws, the light fades, and the living system resumes its own rhythms, transforming the signal once again.

Rather than functioning as a passive substrate, the kombucha operates as a living reservoir: an adaptive, non-deterministic system that processes stimuli through its own internal dynamics. Inspired by cybernetics and reservoir computing, the work rejects command-based interaction in favor of attunement, inviting humans and machines to adjust to the organism’s temporalities rather than forcing it into human-scale computation.

Over time, the kombucha does not merely react; it remembers. Its growing form becomes a material trace of past interactions—a biological memory in which thickness, texture, and structure record cumulative encounters. Growth functions as a living archive, where computation is inscribed in matter rather than abstract code.

The project ‘asynchronous{kombucha}’ opens a liminal space where interaction is no longer based on domination or optimization, but on negotiation across scales of life. Against human-scale computation, the installation proposes biocybernetics as a means to sense, relate to, and coexist with forms of intelligence that operate beyond human perception.

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Strokovna podpora: Pierre-Alexis Ciavaldini
Projekt sta podprla Ministrstvo za kulturo RS & MOL – Oddelek za kulturo.