As a companion program to the Pet Trade Show, lonely planet embarks on a posthuman quest to explore alternative forms of kinship and companionship. The focus is on pets as ambivalent companions caught between care, dependence, projection, and commercialization.

Mara Linden, Rivka Saltiel, Julia Walk, and Maya Minder highlight ferments as more-than-human companions. Ferments such as sourdough starters, for example, also need to be fed, cared for, and attended to with attention. They live with us, react to our environment, satisfy our hunger, and make the everyday relationships of mutual dependence tangible. What does it mean to live and work together with these organisms? What new ideas and lived practices of care, responsibility, and community can emerge from this coexistence?

Curated by Mara Linden, Rivka Saltiel, and Julia Walk.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)