Wed. 19.11. 18.00-20.00
where: Panimokatu 1, 00580 Helsinki
Part organic farm, part BDSM dungeon, part biotech corporation, the pFARM has been in Woodstock, NY since the early 2000s. The pasture-raised, mutagenic brain-child of bio-artist Adam Zaretsky and his collaborators, the power Farm or pFarm synergizes the power dynamics (and massages the ethical boundaries) of the Fetish Organic Biotech. The pFarmers pursue various lines of experimental research: producing hormonally elevated dominas, isolating the human gene for submissiveness, and of course bringing their Unconvention Organic GMOs from lab bench to medical bedside. Laughably implausible attempts to mix Green Movement Grassroots Agriculture, High Tech GMO Pharming and unabashed Sado-Masochistic fetish retrainings, pFarm is an erotically charged cinematic experiment in post-human vivocentrism.
Written by: Adam Zaretsky
Directed by: Chase Pierson & Tarvis Watson Performance Dementia
Focalized by: Empress Tsarina & Adam Zaretsky
Cinematography: Chase Pierson & Tarvis Watson
Editor: Adam Zaretsky
Adam Zaretsky is a former researcher at MIT’s Department of Biology and an experimental bioartist with over a decade of teaching experience. His art practice critically explores the legal, ethical, social, and libidinal implications of biotechnological materials and methods, with a particular focus on transgenic humans. Known for his engaging, hands-on bioart labs, Zaretsky creates dynamic spaces for bioart production.He has led the VivoArts experimental bioart class at institutions including San Francisco State University (SFSU), SymbioticA at the University of Western Australia (UWA), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), The Arts and Genomic Centre (TAGC) at Leiden University, and Waag Society. He is the Head of Research at Nadlinc (since 2016) and a Research Consultant at BEAK (since 2022) in New York. Since 2024, he has been a Visiting Professor at the Department of Audio & Visual Arts at the Ionian University, where he also serves as the Creative Director of TTTlabs and TTTfellows in the “Rewilding Cultures” project (2022-2026), part of the Feral Lab Network, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
andrew gryf paterson is a self-styled ‘artist-organiser’ & ‘autoarchaeologist’, cultural producer, curator, educator, archivist and independent researcher. Specialised in developing and leading inter- and trans- disciplinary projects exploring connections between art, digital culture and science, cultural activism, ecological and sustainability movements, cultural heritage and collaborative networks. Originally from Scotland, Paterson has been active in Helsinki, Finland, as well as Latvia, the Eastern Baltic Sea region & internationally across the fields of media/ network/ environmental arts and activism. Actively involved with Helsinki-based cultural associations for over 20 years, in particular Pixelache Helsinki, most recently Paterson has been coordinating Pixelache’s Archival Strategy 2024-2026. This work has been informed by their cooperation with AvoinGLAM, where Paterson has been working within echo of the Finnish Media Art History (MEHI) project, and open knowledge ecosystems such as Wikidata, Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.
Bioart Society is a Helsinki-based association working at the intersection of art, science and society. Established in May 2008 Bioart Society currently has over 150 members in Finland and other countries. The association is committed to developing, producing and facilitating activities around art and natural sciences with an emphasis on biology, ecology and life sciences. Amongst other multi-year partnership projects, ongoing collaborations include Ars Bioarctica, an art & science residency programme with a focus on the sub-arctic environment with the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station, University of Helsinki and the Tokyo Art & Science Research residency with the BioClub Tokyo and The Finnish Institute in Japan.
