From the Argentinian Bioart Laboratory to the Strange Things retrospective. Ten years of bioart in Argentina

Abstract

Bioart is an artistic genre that brings together works that use techniques, protocols, and methodologies from the fields ofbiology and, above all, biotechnology, for artistic ends. The first works of bioart in Argentina were created in 2008following the creation of the Argentinian Bioart Laboratory. After a decade of intense creativity in the production of bioartin Argentina, this article presents an overview of the works that played a part in consolidating the genre in the country. Theartworks discussed here were created in connection with the Argentinian Bioart Laboratory, and many also formed part ofthe retrospective exhibition Cosas Extrañas. Bioarte en la Argentina [Strange Things. Bioart in Argentina], which washeld at the Center for Art at the National University of La Plata in 2019. The exhibition included eleven works from 2008–2018 by the following Argentinian artists: Daniel Álvarez Olmedo, Agustín Bucari, Gabriel Cicuttin, Joaquín Fargas,Luciana Paoletti, Darío Sacco, Guido Villar, Marina Zerbarini, and the collective Grupo Proyecto Untitled.

Keywords

• bioart
• contemporary art
• argentinian art