Ouroboros

©Fara Peluso and Kat Austen - 2022

In collaboration with

Ars Electronica, the support of Johannes Kepler University Linz, 

Innovationshauptplatz of the City of Linz.

Co-funded by

STARTS programme of the European Union

Ouroboros speaks to the cyclical nature of material and of human relationships with the environment. The ouroboros is a symbol of renewal and rebirth, the emblem of chaos around a world of imposed order. As industrialised activity exerts order on the planet, the impulse of the changing climate will bring a global supra-human chaos to the way that humans can exist. In developing a bioplastic material grown from algae, fulfilling not only the circular aim of leaving no trace but also of fostering lushness through its production, Ouroboros is an emblem of the process of renewal and rebirth. 

Ouroborous juxtaposes new material with bodies of human and algae, framed in a landscape transitioning from extraction. The sculpture showcases the material properties developed through the Circular Records project alongside a prototype bioplastic LP record. Circular Records and Ouroboros are realised through the STARTS Repairing the Present Residency at Ars Electronica. 

This artwork is realised by Kat Austen and Fara Peluso and co-commissioned by Ars Electronica within the framework of STARTS Residency Repairing The Present with the support of Johannes Kepler University Linz, Innovationshauptplatz of the City of Linz, co-funded by the STARTS programme of the European Union.  

Videography by Falko Seidel, metalwork Keep Away From Fire.