Rekombinan (Recombinant Commons)
Mary Maggic
In 2019 artist Mary Maggic spent time with a community on the banks of the Kali Code river in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Local people wash, swim and play in the river every day, even though the water is heavily polluted by untreated sewage and plastic waste.
Some chemicals in plastic pollution, called endocrine disruptors, may impact our hormones, fertility and have other physiological effects. In this triology of artworks, Mary Maggic proposes that plastic pollution and industrial waste is colonizing our bodies and queering the river and local citizens.
Latex sculptures resembling skin embedded with rubbish from the Code accompany a scale model of the river. The river is filled with agar, a jelly-like susbtance that feeds micro-organisms, inviting contamination. A rotating trash mandala symbolises how our bodies and the river are constantly taking in pollutants from our lifestyles. Fungi which can naturally digest bacteria and other toxins float in petri dishes on the surface of the agar river. Meanwhile, a child's voice tells us that the river is in pain because it cannot digest all the plastic.
Image: Milik Bersama Rekombinan, Mary Maggic. Image: ARTJOG Team, Jogja National Museum, 2019
About the contributor(s)
Mary Maggic is a non-binary artist working at the intersection of biotechnology, cultural discourse, and civil disobedience. Their work spans documentary video, scientific methodology, public workshopology, performance, and large scale installation.They hold a BSA in Biological Science and Art from Carnegie Mellon University and a MS in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT Media Lab.
This work was carried out during a 10-month Fulbright residency and collaboration with Lifepatch - Citizen Initiative in Art, Science, and Technology, and Pak Donny Widianto and Mbak Ardhiani from Universitas Gadjah Madah Department of Biotechnology. The artist wishes to thank: Ferial Afiff, Nova Rachmad Basuki, Agus Tri Budiarto, Andreas Siagian, Suherman, Agung Satriya Wibowo, Deki Yudhanto, Paquita Puan Arumrangga, Ibu Suryawati, Pak Bejo Utomo, Pak Liliek Suroso, and Pak Mul.