‘...from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.’ Charles Darwin If life started now, the beginning would not be ‘so simple’ as Darwin suggested. We have complicated our relationship with life. The boundaries between nature and culture have been sublimated and we are breathing a mixture of man-made and natural gases. Our human culture overrides nature. Our capitalistic biomass manufactures mountains of e-waste, beaches of tar, rivers of zinc, oceans of plastic. We are now an army of plastic surgeons redesigning the planet’s face. A face that opens its eyes to new life forms, new beginnings, new extremities. What kind of fish will swim in the plastic ocean? Who will be sunbathing on the beaches of tar? What plants will thrive in a forest of concrete and steel? Which insects will lay eggs in the valleys of asphalt? What birds will fly in the hazy mornings of a smog-stained sky? This workshop starts with a quick overview of biological systems such as the circulatory system, the respiratory system, the nervous system, and the reproductive system, and will explain how these systems (or more specifically organs) could evolve under the influence of global environmental transformations. The rest is up to your imagination: the workshop will give you the time and assets to design your own lungs, grow that extra organ you always wanted or think about that ultimate meat supplier with zero methane impact you have been craving for. Enrolment The full-day workshop is open to a maximum of 12 participants with an open heart and a critical mind. To apply please send a short biography, a motivation why you would like to attend, and your expectations to workshop[@]sonicacts[.]com. The deadline for applications is 15 February 2017. Participants must attend the full programme. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. If we receive more applications than we can accept, a careful selection will be made based on motivation and diversity of backgrounds. A detailed schedule and more information will be sent to the selected participants. Fee Participants pay a €20,- contribution. Lunch will be provided. Pinar Yoldas is an infradisciplinary designer, artist and researcher currently based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her work develops within biological sciences and digital technologies through architectural installations, kinetic sculpture, sound, video and drawing with a focus on post-humanism, eco-nihilism, anthropocene and feminist technoscience. She holds a Ph.D. from Duke University and is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship in the Arts. Speculative Biology: The Design of Biological Systems and Neo-organs Date: 23 February 2017 Time: 10:00–18:00 Location: Rijksakademie, Sarphatistraat 470, Amsterdam