Organic Worlds: Symbiogenesis in Art

Curated by Dr. Charissa Terranova at the SP/N Gallery at The University of Texas at Dallas, Organic Worlds: Symbiogenesis in Art tackles its subject matter(s) — of organisms and organicism, and, arguably, of the Great Chain of Being and Lynn Margulis’ theory of symbiogenesis — with grace. For the non-scientist, biology may appear to be inaccessible, otherworldly, and convoluted in nature, what with the complex double-helixed wiring of our DNA and the entanglement of genetic threads involved in natural selection. But, by featuring the bio-art contributions of two non-scientists, Amy Youngs and Ken Rinaldo, Organic Worlds engages creative practitioner and gallery-goer alike in the process of re-writing biology as we know it. Through interactive, responsive automatons and installations that invite the eye, Organic Worlds seats mankind as conscious players in the biological Great Chain of Being — below God and above rock — and invites the layman viewer to introspect upon and engage with the commemorations of life in this exhibition.

Symbiogenesis

Lynn Margulis’ notions of symbiogenesis, long-term symbiosis, and the Great Chain of Being find their roots in “The Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution” (1998), a manifesto which defined biology for the better. Here, Margulis introduces her four-pronged “Serial Endosymbiosis Theory,” where she argues that extra genes that exist in the cytoplasm of nucleated cells — the cells that compose animals, plants, fungi, and us humans — are not “naked genes.” Rather, they consist of bacterial genes. As a result, all nucleated organisms developed through symbiogenesis — the origin of new material from long-term symbiosis — when archaebacteria fused with ancestral centriole-kinetosomes. Over millennia, this process of fusion eventually compounded into the kind of life we see today, with flowers sprouting around us, natural selection taking its pickings, and humans doling out life-saving medication amid the bidding of Big Pharma. However, “life,” as we know it, extends beyond eco-systemic competition and eventual death. As Dr. Terranova succinctly puts it: “Biology is more than genes, pharmaceuticals, and natural selection.”

Rootscan (2026)

Non-scientists Youngs and Rinaldo explore their re-tellings of biology through two lenses: the “literal” and the “implied.” In works like Rootscan (2026), the two artists go down the “literal” route, “scanning” the dry roots under the careful scrutiny of a neon green laser. In doing so, perhaps the artists intend to preserve the memory of the roots, much like how the Earth leaves its mark in aging tree rings and intertangled root systems beneath our feet. Similarly, in a collaborative effort between Youngs and artists David King, Alena Sun, and Brian Trelegan, Sounds from the Subterrarium (2024) helps to cultivate live springtail arthropods in a closed environment, replete with soil and real vegetation.

Sounds from the Subterrarium (2024)

Sounds from the Subterrarium (2024)

Within this particular space, Youngs tracks the movement of the springtails via red pixelated dots. These markers are then presented to the viewer in a macro-view projection behind the pedestal hosting the springtails’ terrarium, so as to highlight their daily lifestyle in their limited ecosystem. The installation also includes an interactive computer mouse that gallery-goers can use to insert themselves into the arthropods’ environment, replacing the usual pointed computer cursor with the caricature of a springtail. Altogether, both Sounds from the Subterrarium and Rootscan serve as a humbling reminder that life, big or small, should be preserved and handled with care; moreover, these pieces also prove that there is a place for life in any form, any space, and any continuum of time.

Amy Youngs: Flesh of Sun (2025)

During my go-around within the SP/N space, Youngs’ Flesh of Sun (2025) especially caught my attention. Configured in a dark space, its mimicry of dappling light effects creates an area of bright contrast in the SP/N Gallery. Such an illusion is accomplished with a projection of natural imagery, which then seeps through perforations that have been cut into a screen. This trompe l’oeil of an organic environment — as if viewing the photosynthetic interaction between interspersed leaves and sunlight, typically observed on the surfaces of concrete sidewalks around us in our day-to-day lives — leads us into a field of comfort and familiarity. Overall, the “literal” narratives of these re-writings of biology are rooted in explicit depictions of symbiosis, proving to be a grounding experience for viewers who may not be as conscious of their surroundings and of their presence in the Great Chain of Being as an observer of nature.

Ken Rinaldo – Annica Antennae: Soil as Brain (2026)

Organic Worlds also features spectacular installations from Rinaldo, like hanging three-dimensional biomes and a telescope through which one can peer into cellular life in Symbiogenesis (2026), and lively, reactive motor-works in Annica Antennae: Soil as Brain (2026). However, Rinaldo’s hand-drawn “diagrams” in Sacs, Membranes, Motors, and Vesicles (2022-2025) serve as the demure, yet refined pinnacle of the show in my eyes. Veering down the “implied” route of exploring biology, this series of works interweaves biotic, amorphous organ-like forms; imagery evoking blue-print parts and technology; and fluid compositions to reveal a glimpse into the orderly ongoings in our very own organ systems. While humans can be compared to a “well-oiled machine” by dedicating themselves to the “right” regimen(s) of life — eating your greens, performing your daily exercises, drinking the medically-recommended 64 ounces of water a day — Rinaldo makes light of this idiom in his work, where he links the “organ” and the “machine” as two analog mechanisms. In reality, the “organ” (and the “machine”) can only operate through the culminating efforts of cells (or technological parts) working in tandem with one another in their respective organ systems. Should one of the parts in these systems fail, a domino effect of malaise could very well occur. Thinking retrospectively, this leads me to question Margulis’ understanding of humans in the narrative of biology: if humans are a machine running on the efforts of trillions of cells, then are humans really a fixture of holy miracles existing “below God” like the Great Chain of Being makes things out to be? Such questions follow the “implied” nature of works like Rinaldo’s and make topics of biology (or, otherwise, “hard science”) more of an approachable discussion for the layman.

Ken Rinaldo: Sacs, Membranes, Motors, and Vesicles (2022-2025)

Ken Rinaldo: Sacs, Membranes, Motors, and Vesicles (2022-2025)

After walking through Organic Worlds, I found that Amy Youngs and Ken Rinaldo’s revision of biology is one that involves inter-“species” collaboration, both between biological beings and between technical devices, as well as overlapping co-existence between plants, animals, cellular life, and mankind. The works of Youngs and Rinaldo are meant to mold the viewer’s aesthetic reactions in a way that anchors their role in the Great Chain of Being as one part of a massive web of links and connections; as we humans are allowed to take up space and oxygen on Earth, so, too, are creatures like springtails and fallen leaves on the concrete ground allowed to exist. If we refer back to the idea of organisms and the role they play in organicism, it could be said that entities ranging from humans to cells are pivotal in forming the “whole” of the Earth that we know. If we are to take anything away from this exhibition, we ought to afford the Earth and its denizens, crawling or multi-pedal, with the mind that we treat ourselves with: we only have one Earth, and we only have one body.

…………………………………

Organic Worlds: Symbiogenesis in Art is free to visit and will be on view at the SP/N Gallery at The University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson, Texas until April 28, 2026.

Art, Installation, Science, Technology, video