Lucie Strecker and Klaus Spiess

We develop a new experimental process, involving the provocative production of a semi-artificial, semi-natural being, with the equal treatment of apparatus, humans and non-humans. In Nicole C. Karafyllis’s terminology, the hybrid being that is to be created, whose ontological status alternates between animate and inanimate, can be described as a biofact.

Lucie Strecker (DE) is a performance artist, stage director and researcher. She has a diploma in fine arts from the Academy of the Arts, Berlin-Weissensee and graduated in stage directing at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. Since 2012 she has been a Fellow of the Berlin University of the Arts, Postgraduate Forum for the Arts and the Sciences. For the last four years she has been developing hybrid and immersive art-performances on the subject of biology and medicine together with Klaus Spiess. She also has been working together with Philip Riera, Superamas, Ann Liv Young and Daniel Aschwanden. Her performances have been shown among others at the Tanzquartier Wien, the Natural History Museum and the 21er Haus, Vienna; Budascoop, Kortrijk; the House of World Cultures, Berlin. She recently has published her work with Diaphanes and Taylor & Francis.

Klaus Spiess (AT) is a former endocrinologist, psychosomaticist, medical anthropologist and currently directs the Arts in Medicine Program at the Center for Public Health at the Vienna Medical University as an associate professor. He has published his research work in numerous articles on medicine and performance research. For the last four years he has been developing hybrid and immersive art-performances on the subject of biology and medicine together with Lucie Strecker. His works have been shown among others at the Tanzquartier Wien, the Natural History Museum and the 21er Haus, Vienna; Budascoop, Kortrijk, and Tate Modern, London.