MUR 002 + ADAM HUDEC + WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO RESIDE IN A PLACE?
A researcher, architect, activist, co-founder, and educator, Adam Hudec focuses on the material processes of both nature and culture through the lens of cross-disciplinary investigation. In his luggage, he brought his inflatable dust-free chamber, sets of dust catchers, and numerous petri dishes to collect bacteria from the coastline of Ishigaki.
This research, inspired by Epidermitecture, will be part of his PhD project at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, with a specific focus on biogenic growth, particularly Biopatina, on building surfaces.
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The main objective of Adam’s project is to reveal the connection between architecture and nonhuman activities. The residency provided a chance to explore this connection outside the urban, in the tropical ecosystem of the island. “What does it mean to reside in a place?” acknowledges our dependence on various life forms, including microorganisms, cellular responses, and both inorganic and organic artefacts that inhabit our bodies. In Ishigaki, microorganisms are directly influenced by the coastal and tropical conditions of the environment. They play vital roles within us, affecting our immune system, brain, and genome, challenging traditional biological explanations of the individual self. We breathe the ocean, we drink the island, so that the distinction between the 'self' and the 'other' is not that clear.
During the two weeks, we organised various activities with the community. Adam led a workshop for the 28 children at Nosoko Elementary School, engaging them in educational exercises about the air they breathe.Biopatina, a synergy of cyanobacteria, micro algae, microfungi, and lichen, was collected in 20 petri dishes from various locations, ranging from the top of Mape to the concrete blocks in the port. In a matter of days, they had the time to grow and were showcased during our public opening and presentation at the Green Rabbit.
Adam Hudec is a researcher, architect, activist, co-founder and educator, focusing his expertise on material processes of both nature and culture through lenses of cross-disciplinary investigation. Operating at the intersection of art, science and architecture, cross-disciplinary methodologies became his tool to investigate unexpected and hidden anomalies of the environment.
Adam’s working methods are guided by scientific knowledge which informs his artistic production about processes that engage and interact with the audience. Adam’s education in art and architecture encompasses studies at The Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, The University of Hong Kong, The University of Brighton and Brno University of Technology. Adam’s projects were shown on various international exhibition venues including Bi-City Biennale in Shenzhen, Design Biennale BIO 26 in Ljubljana or Venice Biennale in 2022.
His mission is to articulate issues related to environmental, social, political and ethical concerns, while shifting the role and the boundaries of disciplines. Outcomes of his cross-disciplinary collaborations are usually communicated through Dusts Institute; a research platform and community space he co-founded, leading Adam’s practice towards a collaborative effort to re-claim and re-construct a common knowledge about the environment.