The artwork "Simbyiogenesis" is a figurative composition that reflects my perspective on the connection between humans and the living world. The central idea of the painting is rooted in an aesthetic experience and insights about human interaction with the environment, which leads to reciprocal structural changes. The purpose of this artwork is to allow the viewer to feel this dynamic, thereby increasing understanding of the co-evolutionary nature of our interrelations, and to promote the development of the viewer's subjective, symbiotic experience, which encompasses both mind and body.
Evolutionary biologists, developers of the symbiogenesis theory, believe that symbiogenesis—the merging of two distinct organisms to create a new organism—is the dominant force of evolution. Recognizing Darwin's model as incomplete, they emphasize the importance of cooperation and other complex symbiotic interactions among organisms. They argue that life has not conquered Earth through struggle but by forming networks of collaboration. This concept has not only gained attention within the scientific world but has also spread beyond the narrow confines of evolutionary biology, being applied in seemingly unrelated fields such as reflecting on the relationship between humans and technology, or creating utopian visions of the fusion between humanity and nature, popular themes in cinema and science fiction literature. The focus of my planned artwork centers on the idea of symbiotic principles in the structure of the world, and its artistic and conceptual form refers to the mutual influence of human and natural processes.
Kalvis Zālītis "Simbyiogenesis"
2024