LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor)

LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor: the hypothetical single-cell organism from which all life on Earth descended) is a non-linear virtual environment with a non-anthropocentric approach. In the natural world, diverse forms of intelligence operate independently of human dominance. Non-human organisms construct intricate information networks, respond to their umwelt, form complex symbiotic relationships, and communicate through methods that eluded understanding and validation by modern science for centuries. This perspective challenges the notion of human superiority, positioning humans as just one element within the ecosystem rather than at the apex of a hierarchical structure.

Exploring the interconnection and collective agency between human and non-human intelligence, this project utilizes Unreal Engine, Max MSP, a brain–computer interface (EEG), a stage lighting system (grandMA3) and multiple microcontrollers to dynamically shape the visual and sonic elements of a virtual world. Real-time biometric data from performers’ movements and living microbiomes are streamed into the virtual ecosystem to explore the interconnectivity among diverse living entities. The virtual environment, on the other hand, responds and impacts the physical reality inhabited by the project through lighting, haze control, and audio cues. LUCA is designed to function as an immersive and interactive installation that can be activated as a live performance.

Each iteration of LUCA is customized to collaborate with different composers, lighting designers, human and non-human performers. Therefore each experience is unique and unreproducible. In the iteration at Torn Space Theater, the following co-creators include: Microorganisms: Slime Mold, Yeast; Dancers: Nikiya Garza, Kalub Thompson; Guitarist: Tristan Trump; Production Manager: Carly Weiser; Technical Director: Dan Toner; Lighting Designer: Matvey Kitchen; Audio Engineer: Dan Neveu; Composer: Justin Rowland; Scientific Specialist and Microbe Manager: Solon Morse; Coalesce Lab Director: Paul Vanouse; Technical Assistant for Extended Reality: Famous Clark. The performance was co-produced by Torn Space Theater and Coalesce BioArt Lab, University at Buffalo during my residency there.

Below are still images captured from the LUCA virtual ecosystem.

Photography by Salem Browning (p.1-8) and Carly Weiser (p.9-11). Video documentation by Whitney Kehl and Walker Tufts.