The fascinating biomechanic art of Gaby Wormann
Evelyn Schiller, January 2017
Can you imagine a future with hybrid creatures that are more resistant, more efficient and more technically optimised? It can look like a scene coming directly from H.R. Giger's head. And although he is an inspiration for our interviewed artist, we are actually talking about Gaby Wormann, a German artist which in her own words "deals with the themes of individual ethics and the unrestrained intervention of humanity in complex biological structures."
I had the pleasure of meetting Gaby at her exhibition opening MeCre (short for “Mechanical Creatures”) at Dock Gallery in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Gaby uses tiny parts from the world of watchmaking, mechanical engineering and integrates them into the bodies of prepared insects, who then are rebirth into the world of art.
I had the pleasure of meetting Gaby at her exhibition opening MeCre (short for “Mechanical Creatures”) at Dock Gallery in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Gaby uses tiny parts from the world of watchmaking, mechanical engineering and integrates them into the bodies of prepared insects, who then are rebirth into the world of art.
MeCre - Gaby Wormann
Getting in touch with Gaby's work is having a whirlwind of contradictory feelings. The aesthetics are worked in a higher level of precision and perfection, but the message it sends and the barriers it breaks can be indigestible. You may like it or not, but surely it will make you fell something and probably question the boundaries of evolution. She left me with a lot of questions and opened my eyes for science fiction. Make sure to get involved with this great artist. You can see more of her work here .
MeCre - Gaby Wormann
MeCre - Gaby Wormann
How was Gaby Wormann as a child, how was her path into art and how she get where she is right now?
She was born in 1966 in a rural area and interested in all things created by the Evolution – dinosaurs, fossils and, obviously, science-fiction as well. She was educated in practical and business areas; her art education was autodidactic and the “school of life”.
The creation of such complex creatures requires an exceptionally high level of craftmanship, technical skills, biology and mechanical knowledge. Could you share with us how you developed the abilities as an artist?
My work requires lots of creativity, experience and practical skills. The special knowledge is freely accessible on the Internet and anybody willing to invest the needed time an effort can avail himself of it. My years of experience, creativity and the knowledge from open sources made it possible for me to set goals for myself and achieve them. But creativity is the most important prerequisite.
How was Gaby Wormann as a child, how was her path into art and how she get where she is right now?
She was born in 1966 in a rural area and interested in all things created by the Evolution – dinosaurs, fossils and, obviously, science-fiction as well. She was educated in practical and business areas; her art education was autodidactic and the “school of life”.
The creation of such complex creatures requires an exceptionally high level of craftmanship, technical skills, biology and mechanical knowledge. Could you share with us how you developed the abilities as an artist?
My work requires lots of creativity, experience and practical skills. The special knowledge is freely accessible on the Internet and anybody willing to invest the needed time an effort can avail himself of it. My years of experience, creativity and the knowledge from open sources made it possible for me to set goals for myself and achieve them. But creativity is the most important prerequisite.
MeCre - Gaby Wormann
"I play with limits of our imagination and fascination, I address the human curiosity with a trace of genuine dread. I want to elicit an emotional response in the viewer."
MeCre - Gaby Wormann
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MeCre - Gaby Wormann
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Getting in touch with the series Mechanical Creatures - MeCre; it is impossible to remain indifferent to the different reactions: admiration, fear, fascination, fright or even mixed feelings. Where have you already taken this exhibition and what are your requirements for choosing a gallery?
I play with limits of our imagination and fascination, I address the human curiosity with a trace of genuine dread. I want to elicit an emotional response in the viewer. My works are shown in galleries which understand this kind of art as the: M.A.D.Gallery MB&F In Geneva Dock Gallery in Rotterdam Metropolitan Gallery in Hamburg
Your work with insects that you gather from different sources around the world. How is the process of the preparation of these organisms for the transformation they will be subject to?
I work not only with insects but also with other organisms and for each one of them there is a special technique. The process is different in each case.
One of the most intiguing aspects of your art is how you blend organic and mechanic. How is the creative process to rebirth these bionic creatures that appear eerily real?
The design of each of my objects is a new challenge. It is completed when I feel it can be considered visually functional.
The intrinsic themes that your work raises are profound and complex. Do you see your mechanical creatures and their artificial evolutionary stage in the optimistic point of view? Such as how the steam punk alternative culture often presents the future of mankind. Or do you see them as the bringer of the humanity demise, in a dystopian way like the works of HR Giger?
The esthetic dimension of my works addresses parallels in our perception: watches fascinate us with their mechanical perfection; the perfection of living creatures visible in macrophotographs is similarly fascinating to all humans. Both are perishable and we can interpret the Mechanical Creatures both as a vision into the future and as a look back into the past. I see my works as an esthetical document of their time. I do not intend to predict the future, I perceive my work as a symbol for the contemporary world which can be interpreted by the viewer as she or he likes. The modern technology becomes increasingly important in our everyday life but I hope it will not supplant the Evolution.
MeCre - Gaby Wormann
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MeCre - Gaby Wormann
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Your artwork is a blend of organic and mechanical. Do you see nature becoming a controllable “robotic” element to be used at our service? Many existing technologies were considered “science-fiction” only short time ago. The modern medicine, electronics and mechanical engineering can replace missing organs and limbs. Nowadays, we do not consider a man with a cardiac pacemaker a “cyborg”.
Society is already in transformation; we are surrounded with the "internet of things" and making a lot of advances in the "internet of the robotic things". What do you see at the core of the relationship between nature and machine?
There is only a small step from mechanically enhanced Lycosa tarantula to a technically enhanced human. The optimization principle is the watchword of our times. The principles encoded in my work and in the esthetics of the Steampunk reach increasingly into our everyday world. Humans are connected to the internet and let themselves be controlled by wearables and apps to achieve perfection. There is a small step from the “Internet of Things” to the “Internet of Creatures” and I want to encourage the viewer to ponder on the desirability of this kind of future. How much control do we want to surrender and how obsessive is our quest for perfection?
How are these connections are affecting our notions about the environment, the world and humanity?
Our generation might be the first to live longer and in greater comfort due to the support of robots and other mechanical aids. Whole nations not having the means to sustain this kind of Industrial-Bio-Capitalism would be discriminated by this development.
MeCre - Gaby Wormann
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MeCre - Gaby Wormann
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"Humans are connected to the internet and let themselves be controlled by wearables and apps to achieve perfection (…) How much control do we want to surrender and how obsessive is our quest for perfection?"
MeCre - Gaby Wormann
Do you see the implants of the technological devices in human bodies as a tool of improvement, something to wish for or to be afraid of?
A cardiac pacemaker is certainly a desirable life-prolonging aid, a chip in the brain deciding for each one of us when our life should be terminated is an entirely different story.
The series MeCre raises the themes as the individual ethics and humanity’s uninhibited intervention in complex biological systems. What is your stance regarding the ethical boundaries and the limits of the creation of hybrid life forms that are more efficient and optimized?
I do not feel able to answer such a question. It is always difficult to break the limits and the question remains who defines such limits. The prolongation of human life seems desirable but what price would we have to pay for such a luxury? I would be rather afraid of a perfect creature.
We cannot control the changes and transformations of the planet, this metamorphoses is already happening and we will be forced into to it in one way or another. Which do you think are the questions and/or discussions that we should be putting in the spotlight at this time? Every human being should answer this question for himself or herself. Beauty and health in the world of the rich and bare survival for the poor? Peace and empathy should be an important part of our evolutionary development.
What are you reading at the moment?
"The second machine age“ by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew Mcafee, Plassen Publishers.
MeCre - Gaby Wormann
MeCre - Gaby Wormann