Projects
Hermaphrogenesis
Hermaphrogenesis
Hermaphrogenesis is a work of science fiction exploring queer, posthuman ecologies and lifeforms beyond biological makeup and social construction.
Inspired by haruspicy, an ancient method of divination from animal entrails, this installation combines physical interaction with the digital experience. Participants rearrange silicone replicas of internal human organs to create anatomy of a new organism, analysed by an AI-system that generates a description and visualisation of this speculative creature, downloadable as a character sheet.
Long ago, in Ancient Rome, the organs and entrails of sacrificed animals were decoded and interpreted by those tasked with defining the limits of reality. This ancient divination technique – called haruspicy – was performed by a trained priest, who ritually consulted the liver, lungs, and heart of skinned beasts to discern the will of the gods.
Hermaphrogenesis invites the participants to perform a hybrid form of haruspicy that looks at the body as a metaphor for the mutability of fixed systems. The work uses biomedical engineering methods to create silicone replicas of internal organs – with the exception of gonads – that the audience will examine, manipulate and reconstruct at their will. These androgynous arrangements, decoded by the computational system will become organisms that exist beyond biological makeup and social construction. The project contends with the otherness of our interiority, trying to de-emphasise the link between biological make up and gendered social status. Hermaphrogenesis focuses on tactile exploration of our internal landscape and by using the emerging technologies, remixes it in the realm of speculative evolution.
The term hermaphrodite emerges from an ancient Greek myth, describing the child of Hermes - the patron saint of alchemy - and Aphrodite - the goddess of lust, love, pleasure, and beauty - uniting male and female characteristics into a single unified organism. Genesis descends from the Greek describing origin, creation and generation. Hermaphro-Genesis is a myth and the alchemical great work which the participants must read through the organs and entrails of the posthuman body.
From the text by [M] Dudeck
The prototype of the project was developed at CPH:LAB of CPH:DOX – Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival 2024 and received a Studio Award by Onassis ONX.
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£50,000
Aims of the Project
With support from the Immersive Arts grant, we aim to complete the final phase of Hermaphrogenesis and prepare the work for public presentation on a planned tour in 2025/2026.
Over the past two years, we’ve developed prototypes of the silicone organs and begun exploring how artificial intelligence can interact with these objects. This next stage will focus on completing the physical fabrication of the organs, using the biomedical engineering pipeline to fabricate the artificial organs that are both tactile and durable for audience interaction.
How did they do that?
Alongside this, we will refine and integrate the digital system — teaching the AI to recognise each organ and understand its symbolic and biological functions.
Our goal is to build a custom AI that responds to the audience’s interactions, drawing on scientific knowledge and framed through queer methodologies. This final phase is highly collaborative, involving expertise from biomedical engineering, biology, and queer studies to finalise the narrative and users’ experience.
Meet the artists
Marcin Gawin
Lead artist
he/they
Marcin Gawin (b. 1994) is a Polish artist working between traditional and new media. Having completed Marina Abramovic’s ‘Cleaning the House’ training in durational performance, their work delves into themes of embodiment and posthumanism, investigating how speculative narratives can reimagine the body as a site of transformation and potential. In 2024 Marcin graduated MA in Virtual and Expanded Realities from the University of the West of England and is a resident of Pervasive Media Studio for Creative Technologies in Bristol, UK.
They have presented their work internationally, including at the Sheffield DocFest, VSSL Studio, CPH:DOX, Terytoria Festiwal, and Modern Art Oxford.
Jason Haebich
Jayson Haebich is an artist, developer and researcher based in Hong Kong who works with lighting technologies. His work encompasses both technical design and implementation of software, hardware and artistic works that utilise technologies such as lasers, projection mapping, LED lighting, and educational tools.
He has presented work worldwide including at the Salisbury Cathedral, Bauhaus, Somerset House, British Film Institute and in smaller galleries and institutions across Europe, Australia and China. His work has also been featured in the Sunday Times, BBC, Creators Project, Creative Applications, Design Boom and Fast Co Design.
Jane Scarth
Producer
Jane Scarth is an independent curator and producer based in Bristol. She was formerly Curator: Public Programmes at Whitechapel Gallery (2017–2024), where she was responsible for public events including talks, symposiums, and performances, as well as the Writer in Residence programme and the Hear, Now podcast series. During her time at Whitechapel, she led projects and programmes such as Ways of Knowing: Imagining Other Futures (2020–2021), the multi-year research strand The Rural (2017–2019), and the Nocturnal Creatures festival (2018, 2019).
She also curated exhibitions with artists including Sophia Al-Maria, Rachel Pimm, and Myvillages. Prior to this, she was Residency and Programmes Manager at Delfina Foundation, where she oversaw London-based residencies and public programming with international artists.
