Challenge #3
Life in the Universe
Problem Statement:
Pauline Julier’s challenge explores “life in the universe.” She will investigate the origin of life, the possibility of life beyond Earth, and whether the Universe itself is alive. In a post-Anthropocene era, what can we learn from potential extraterrestrial lives and their implications for our understanding of life?
Challenge description:
It’s often said that there are as many definitions of life as there are people trying to define it. At the crossroads of several disciplines, this project explores the nature of life and examines why scientists struggle to define its limits. When did life begin? What were the first traces of life on Earth? Does life exist elsewhere in the Universe? What influence do language and religion have on our conception of life? Can the Universe itself be considered alive? From undersea volcanoes to exoplanets, from the workings of the brain to quantum physics and the study of microscopic animals, this project explores the different ways in which we can better understand our place in the cosmos.
Residency characteristics:
Bozar will facilitate collaboration between artist Pauline Julier and scientific experts for her upcoming residency. Julier, experienced in art and science, will focus on a new visual project, engaging with the scientific community to shape her research. Bozar will connect her with institutions and scientific partners, leveraging its extensive network across Europe and beyond.
Filipa Ramos (LCC), a curator specializing in ecological concerns and artists’ films, will guide Julier in her artistic choices. The project will be featured in Bozar’s 2025 and 2026 programs through screenings, talks, educational activities, and podcasts.
Julier’s project will be informed by her exchanges with scientists, with at least 2-3 in-person meetings during the nine-month residency. Bozar expects the outcome to highlight the strength of interdisciplinary collaboration, resulting in a short video, film, installation, or written work that showcases the intersection of art and science.
Established artist bio:
Pauline Julier
Pauline Julier is an artist and filmmaker who explores the complex relationships between humans and their environment through diverse media. Her films and installations, blending documentary, theoretical, and fictional elements, have been showcased worldwide, including at the Centre Pompidou, Palazzo Grassi, and Visions du Réel. Julier held a solo exhibition at the Centre Culturel Suisse in Paris in 2017 and completed a residency at the Istituto Svizzero in Rome in 2020. Her film “Way Beyond” premiered at Visions du Réel and is currently on view in her solo show at Aargauer Kunsthaus until October 2024.
Selected Young Scientist bio:
Fabien Louvet
Fabien Louvet did a thesis in Paris on the influence of gas density and shocks on the formation of massive stars. He then conducted two post-doctorates in Santiago de Chile on the influence of the magnetic field on star formation. He continued with a final post-doctorate on numerical modeling of star formation, before being recruited by the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). Fabien Louvet now works in Grenoble where he is interested in all the physical and chemical processes involved in the transition from a cold, diffuse cloud of gas to a Sun-Planet system like ours.
Selected Young Scientist bio:
Faustine Cantalloube
Faustine Cantalloube is a CNRS researcher at the Grenoble Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics (France). She is a specialist in exoplanet imaging instrumentation, working mainly on three aspects: (1) performance diagnostics for instruments currently in operation, (2) the design of image processing methods to detect exoplanets, and (3) the design of future generations of instruments dedicated to exoplanet imaging. Taking advantage of the fascination that astronomy arouses to discuss different aspects of society, Faustine Cantalloube is deeply involved in scientific mediation. For several years now, she has been studying the impact of climate change on the quality of astronomical observations, in order to alert her colleagues and raise public awareness on the urgent need to change social paradigms.
LCC:
Filipa Ramos
PhD, is a writer and curator. She is Lecturer at the Arts Institute of the HGK/FHNW, Basel. Her research focuses on how contemporary art engages with nature and ecology. Ramos has been curator of the Art Basel Film sector (2020-24) and a founding curator of the online artists’ cinema Vdrome (since 2013). Current projects include BESTIARI, the Catalan representation at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (2024) and the arts, humanities and science festival The Shape of a Circle in the Mind of a Fish (since 2018, with Lucia Pietroiusti). In 2024, she curated Songs for the Changing Seasons for the 1. Klima Biennale Wien (with Lucia Pietroiusti) and in 2022, Persons Persone Personen, the 8th Biennale Gherdëina (with Lucia Pietroiusti). In 2021, she co-curated Bodies of Water, the 13th Shanghai Biennale (with Andrés Jaque, Lucia Pietroiusti, Marina Otero Verzier and Mi You). Ramos was Editor-in-Chief of e-flux criticism (2013-20), Associate Editor of Manifesta Journal (2009-11) and contributed for Documenta 13 (2012) and 14 (2017). She authored Lost and Found (Silvana Editoriale, 2009) and edited Animals (Whitechapel Gallery/MIT Press, 2016). Her upcoming book, The Artist as Ecologist, will be published by Lund Humphries in 2025.
Residency hosting institution
Bozar
Country
Belgium
Keywords
Living organisms, Cosmos, Co-evolution, Universal life, Deep time, Symbiosis
Related innovation areas
Biology, Astrophysics, Philosophy, History of sciences
Established artist
Pauline Julier
Jury day
November 15, 2024 or November 25, 2024