Radical Symbiosis: Embodying Supply-Chain Consciousness

Virginia Tech
Institute for Creative Art & Technology
The Cube at The Center for Fine Arts

Radical Symbiosis examines the hidden complexities of daily consumption through multimedia performance, addressing supply chain consciousness, true cost analysis, and the infrastructures connecting our morning routines to global production systems. Focusing on five fundamental human needs: food, water, shelter, clothing, and energy, the project creates an artistic experience revealing the embodied energy and social justice implications embedded within basic daily practices.

The project brings together expertise from multiple disciplines at Virginia Tech and a visiting ICAT scholar:

• Michael Borowski (Principle Investigator, School of Visual Arts): Leading project management. Designing and constructing sculptural elements and performance props using repurposed and recycled materials, building on his Objects of Interdependence series
• Dr. Cara Judea Alhadeff (Visiting ICAT scholar): Developing video and photographic components, drawing on her previous publication Zazu Dreams and related video works
• Rachel Rugh (School of Performing Arts): Integrating the project into her upper-level dance course during Fall 2025, with students developing choreographic responses to supply chain themes

The project employs the Trickster as a creative framework, weaving photography, sculpture, and performance into a creative/pedagogical/eco-political manifesto. This approach explores “object intimacies” – the hidden relationships between consumers and global networks delivering everyday necessities. By constraining the topic of supply chain consciousness to the familiar framework of morning routines, the project makes abstract global systems tangible and personally relevant.

Listing of research areas involved:
Visual arts, dance, critical philosophy, environmental humanities, human rights, environmental justice, economics