DIY Antibiotica
Waag BY-NC-SA
11
Oct
2016
17:00
21:00

DIY Antibiotica: test (human behaviour)

Antibiotic drugs save lives, but it’s a finite resource. We all have to think twice before we tap into it.

Prevention rather than cure 
Since the growing resistance to antibiotics is one of the biggest health challenges of modern times, we want to consider different approaches to deal with the crisis. What if, instead of producing more new drugs, we stimulate prevention rather than cure? This allows us to address the complexity of antibiotics through micro-narratives and everyday situations. For this last DIY-antibiotica workshop, the focus lies on behaviour and embodied experience as a way to reflect on codes of conduct and rituals (past, present, future) that can help us discuss different positions on the topic of the antibiotics crisis.  

Body Testing Buffet
While most people would balk at the thought of eating mud or clay, some medical experts say it may be beneficial. Many potential new antibiotics are found in soil. Could eating earth make our bodies stronger? What about fermented foods? We'll explore this topic when we kickoff the workshop and discussion for the evening with a Body Testing Buffet.

Interaction with the unseen
How do we react to the potential existence of tiny microbes that we cannot see with the naked eye? For this part of the workshop, we'll carry out a series of behavioral experiments. This is all about the imaginary transmission of disease: all the participants will be invited to walk around the space and exchange droplets from cups of fluid with each other.

The second part of the workshop challenges participants to avoid the spread of disease through altering their movements in relation to suspicious objects. Participants will be asked to discuss potentially effective movements for handling an infected object. Then, we'll conduct simple tests to see how effective their strategies are.

Workshop program
18.00 Doors open
18.30 Body Testing Buffet
19.30 Human interaction
21.00 Discussion
22.00 Drinks

This workshop is a collaboration with Špela Petrič, Mike Thompson, Susana Cámara Leret and Pei-Ying Lin. 

When

11
Oct
2016
17:00
21:00

Location

Waag, Nieuwmarkt 4, 1012 CR Amsterdam

Project