In the third episode of Symbiotics, artist and researcher Stephanie Rothenberg examines the underlying infrastructures of techno-utopian visions of the future. Working across digital and physical media, Stephanie explores how systems of labor, finance, and ecology intersect in the age of sustainability myths. In this episode, she analyses the political dimensions of the so-called “blue economy”—from aquaculture to conservation technologies—revealing how such initiatives often conceal deeper structural inequalities. The conversation also reflects on the role of artistic research in making complex systems visible and audible, and on its potential to foster critical engagement with these systems.

📸Portrait Photocredits: Stephanie Rothenberg
📸 ‘Aquadisia’, Stephanie Rothenberg, at Buffalo Art Studio, Buffalo, NY, September 29- November 9, 2024. Photocredit: Nilson Rivera