Zoe Farmer | Bio Exuberance
What biology has to teach us, part 2
October 24, 2020 – January 30, 2021
Animals, insects, and organisms offer many ways to challenge the conventional social constructions that we apply to our own species. The term “biological exuberance,” introduced by Dr. Bruce Bagemihl in his book of the same name, describes the surprising diversity of the animal kingdom, which encompasses a seemingly endless variety of gender and sexual fluidity.
In part, this show is an exploration and celebration of wonder that fully embraces the diversity of what it is to be a biological being in an intricately interconnected network of organisms. And in part, it is a response to our confinement under the pandemic and an increased need for biophilic experiences. Biophilia, as defined by Edward O. Wilson, is “the urge to affiliate with other life forms.” Nature seems to be amplified now, as does our need to connect with it.
Diversification equals strength. Collaboration amongst all living organisms leads to biological success and, by extension, a well-balanced, connected world.
– Zoe Farmer
SFArtsED’s 2019-2020 Minnesota Street Project Artist-in-Residence
Video credit: Bio Exuberance, 2020. Film collage, 7:20.
