July 11, 2024
18:00 - 20:00
Location: Löwenbräukunst, exact location TBC
Löwenbräukunst
Limmatstrasse 270
8005 Zürich

Please RSVP by clicking the image at the bottom of the page or at this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planetary-narratives-6-tickets-934447837637

Algae, Oxygen and Bones
Keynote conference by Mariluz Bagnoud (Agroscope)
18:00 - 18:30 Talk
18:30 - 18:45 Q&A


With a PhD in Geosciences and Environment obtained at the University of Lausanne in 2010, Mariluz Bagnoud is a Biogeochemist. She started in the fields of environmental geochemistry and carbonates, the origin of life and fossil fuels and continued her activities in the field of biogas production from microalgae biomass and coupling of biotechnology and thermochemical systems.


2.7 billion years ago, Earth's atmosphere was devoid of free oxygen, and anaerobic unicellular organisms were the dominant life forms. However, a pivotal mutation occurred around 520 million years ago among some microorganisms on the water's surface: they started to use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose, with oxygen as a byproduct. The process, known as photosynthesis, deeply transformed the Earth because oxygen was toxic to anaerobes and even to the photosynthetic microorganisms themselves but the ability to produce glucose provided a significant evolutionary advantage. These organisms were then able to generate their own food and they became as well a vital energy source for other non-photosynthetic organisms. Photosynthesis led to a rise in atmospheric oxygen to the 21% we have today, which favored the development of aerobic life forms like humans.

These early photosynthetic organisms were the precursors to modern microalgae. Free oxygen, the ozone layer, mineral diversification, skeleton fabrication, clean water and air, healthy soils, biodiversity, and biogeochemical cycles are all influenced by these photosynthetic microorganisms. Today, microalgae remain essential, producing more than 50% of the planet's daily oxygen and forming the base of food webs in aquatic ecosystems.

Humans have flourished in the environment created by these photosynthetic microorganisms, leading to reproductive success and global dominance. However, human activities are now depleting resources faster than they can be replenished and reversing millions of years of carbon sequestration. To maintain Earth's habitability, a shift from linear economic models to nature's regenerative model is required. Microalgae will be crucial in this transformation, acting as a regenerative economic platform that promotes mutual benefit between humans and nature. They are key to addressing climate change and ensuring food security.

CRASH POLI: The Infra-world that supports our own
A conversation between Magali Daniaux & Cédric Pigot, Clémence Seurat, Jeremy Lecomte, Ewen Chardronnet and the audience.
18:45

How can life survive in the hell of the Anthropocene? The works of French artists Magali Daniaux and Cédric Pigot cultivate the imagination and propose narratives of continuity, both serious and delirious, as a way of coping with extinction. They have presented plants, fossils, stones and objects in the More-than-planet exhibition space – they collect this material as they cross worlds. Metabolised then petrified, combined with ceramic and concrete creations, they form a landscape that crosses the ages and defies the order of geological strata.

To close the exhibition, the artists talk to researchers Clémence Seurat, Jeremy Lecomte and Ewen Chardronnet (co-curator) about their work and discuss geology and current political debates, mutant natures, regeneration and science fiction.

RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planetary-narratives-6-tickets-934447837637

Photo: Magali Daniaux & Cédric Pigot, Hongos Encre sur papier, 2022, 75x110cm