Hyb.R.Myth.2022.05

The work was created as part of the Artist in Lab 2022 residency, funded by Fraunhofer WKD, and forms part of the multi-award-winning HYBRIS research initiative, which explores the material and temporal dimensions of humanity’s reshaping of nature. The initiative was nominated for, amongst others, the Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year 2026 and the S+T+ARTS Prize 2025 (European Commission and Ars Electronica), and was awarded the Culture4Climate Award (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action) as well as the VNG Art Prize 2024 from the VNG Foundation and the HGB Friends’ Circle.

The work translates mythological Amazon figures into an industrial façade insulation material. Extruded polystyrene (XPS), used millions of times in construction, has an estimated persistence of several thousand years; however, in practice, it is often removed from buildings and sent to landfill after just 20–30 years, as contaminated panels are virtually impossible to recycle. This results in large quantities of waste every year, often contaminated with flame retardants that pose a health risk and can be detected in the environment and in the human body.

Through decomposition by mealworms, which transform the material with the help of gut bacteria, this temporal logic breaks down: what was intended to last for millennia is transformed in a matter of days under extreme acceleration, without pollutants accumulating in the organisms.

Drawing on the logic of Greek tragedy, whereby hubris is followed by nemesis, the Amazons appear as figures of retribution – united by a form of female rage in response to structural violence. In their transformation into a synthetic material, however, they themselves become part of the very hubris they address.

The work thus addresses ecofeminist issues and critiques a historically male-coded hubris that produces materials which elude the passage of time, inscribe themselves into the environment and the body, and cause long-term damage.