From animals, plants, bacteria, and other microorganisms to cells, bio-art is a type of art that uses living materials. These practices have shaken up various assumptions that have been embedded in us as a matter of course.

Some works show that our view of life is artificial, built around humans. Another exposes the violence lurking within our actions toward other species. Still others reveal the power and dangers behind the development of technologies that allow us to manipulate and create life, such as cloning, gene editing, and the advent of artificial cells.

The presentation of these new perspectives is of great significance. It will become increasingly important as the discourse of the Anthropocene flourishes in recent years and further technological advances are generated.
But are there any ethical issues with the treatment of living organisms by human hands in the name of art?

Some researchers argue that it is justified from the standpoint of bioethics. However, from the perspective of animal ethics, it can be shaky. There may be something that can be said from a simple sense of ethics that is not at the level of ethics "studies.
In this lecture, we will discuss the ethics of bio-art dealing with living organisms, using actual examples of works, the presenter's own research, and various academic efforts related to ethics as materials for discussion.

About Takahiro Tsukamoto

After graduating from the Department of Fine Arts, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Tsukamoto entered the Master's program in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies. He is currently enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Cultural Anthropology, Department of Interdisciplinary Cultural Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo. He is a Research Assistant at the University of Tokyo's Initiative for Excellence in Global Studies.
He conducts research as a member of metaPhorest, a bio-art platform.

• The talk will be given in Japanese.
• Free of charge