The sculptures of Rhoda Ting and Mikkel Bojesen help us encounter ways of connecting with species that have moved beyond the conventional frameworks of familiar life forms. Scala Naturae consists of five glass pods on stalks with breathing, soft, mechanical bodies linked to networks through computer control units and various components. 

The installation connects organic, synthetic and mechanical modes of existence. It alludes to the Aristotelian concept of hierarchy: the order of life and causality that have shaped the narrative of nature and society for millennia. Is this order still relevant today, or has the time come to speak a new language when we address issues of existence: mutual growth, interconnection and diverse forms of intelligence? What story do we tell about the past, and what kind of future do we envision as a result?

The artist duo takes a new approach to the triad of humanity, nature and technology, challenging the notion of human exceptionalism and the reductive mindset built on the binary opposition of organic and artificial. They explore possibilities for new models of co-existence and hybrid life forms in the borderlands of science, art, philosophy and technology.

The glass pods of Scala Naturae are protective shells or incubators but can also be regarded as objects of observation. The worlds unfolding inside them challenge the boundaries of conventional forms of existence. The soft robots they carry evoke empathy and may awaken a nurturing instinct in the viewer as they show signs of wear and ageing over time. These emotions evoke a vision in which new forms of care emerge, a world where attentiveness is not confined to human communities or individuals but may extend to our environment, to animals and even to non-organic life forms.

(Kincső Ferencz)