Organic matter
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2025 Organic matter (pill millipede)
At the heart of Organic Matter (pill millipede) is a giant pill millipede (Sphaerotheriida)—a rare arthropod crucial for nutrient stabilization in its habitat, yet increasingly endangered by human destruction of its ecosystems. Its spherical shape serves as both protection and metaphor, referencing biological morphologies and cultural notions of retreat and preservation. The creature appears like a biological relic embedded within machine aesthetics—as if the machine itself sensed the Earth’s peril and elevated this fragile being to a symbol of warning. Mona Schulzek’s work reflects on the visibility and value of non-human intelligences—animal instinct or machine learning—often romanticized, misused, or ignored by humans. The sculpture forms a quiet alliance of technology, biology, and memory—as if machines, before humans, understood that survival on a fragile planet demands collective action. – Text by Teresa Retzer
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