Oron Catts and Ionat Zur "Working with Living Materials”

Oron Catts and Ionat Zur’s interest is life, more specifically the shifting relations and perceptions of life in the light of new knowledge and its applications. Their artistic studio is a scientific lab, where they work with living biological materials that are either naturally occurring or designed in the lab. Their collaborative practice often sees them bring artists and scientists together, creating a dialogue between the two groups to further encourage research projects and access to lab-based technologies.

Catts & Zurr’s formed the internationally renowned Tissue Culture & Art Project in 1996 and are presenting their artwork ‘Biomess’ as part of Experimenta Life Forms (2021-2023). Catts is also the Co-Founder and Director of SymbioticA: the Centre of Excellence in Biological Arts, School of Human Sciences at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Dr Ionat Zurr is the Chair of the Fine Arts Discipline at the School of Design UWA and SymbioticA’s academic coordinator.

The Experimenta Studio Sessions is a new series of digital stories designed to provide a unique insight into the studio life and creative practice of a selection of Australian artists. Click here to watch other videos.