Symbiotic Structures positions itself within a lineage of sculptural practice that merges material experimentation with ecological thought and socio-political enquiry. Referencing Brancusi’s organic abstraction and extending through the environmental interventions of Agnes Denes and Helen Mayer Harrison & Newton Harrison, the work reimagines sculpture not as a fixed or static monument, but as a living, adaptive system. Developed in response to a residency in the Amazon rainforest with LABVERDE, the project draws deep inspiration from the Atta leafcutter ants—superorganisms whose vast, decentralised subterranean architectures embody collective intelligence, interdependence, and resilience
Working with reprocessed industrial waste products, bio-receptive materials and modular sculptural forms, Symbiotic Structures challenges modernist ideals of permanence and autonomy, instead embracing entropy, collaboration, and regeneration. The sculptural language echoes the intricate, evolving structures of ATTA nests, proposing speculative architectures for shared resourcefulness and cohabitation across species. Referencing the ATTA becomes both a biological and metaphorical gesture, grounding the work in ecological observation while inviting reflection on mutual care, distributed authorship, and non-hierarchical design systems
Through these references, Symbiotic Structures becomes a critical and poetic gesture towards post-anthropocentric modes of making where narrative, material, and form conspire to imagine alternative futures rooted in cooperation and ecological entanglement. These public sculptures act as spaces for gathering and conversation, inviting temporary communities to reflect on biodiversity, urban ecologies, and climate resilience. In doing so, the project extends the history of sculpture towards more regenerative and relational futures
Working with reprocessed industrial waste products, bio-receptive materials and modular sculptural forms, Symbiotic Structures challenges modernist ideals of permanence and autonomy, instead embracing entropy, collaboration, and regeneration. The sculptural language echoes the intricate, evolving structures of ATTA nests, proposing speculative architectures for shared resourcefulness and cohabitation across species. Referencing the ATTA becomes both a biological and metaphorical gesture, grounding the work in ecological observation while inviting reflection on mutual care, distributed authorship, and non-hierarchical design systems
Through these references, Symbiotic Structures becomes a critical and poetic gesture towards post-anthropocentric modes of making where narrative, material, and form conspire to imagine alternative futures rooted in cooperation and ecological entanglement. These public sculptures act as spaces for gathering and conversation, inviting temporary communities to reflect on biodiversity, urban ecologies, and climate resilience. In doing so, the project extends the history of sculpture towards more regenerative and relational futures