Leiden University Student Repository

Janiszewska, Paula (2026)

A Co-constitutive Environment: The Varied Agencies in Microbial Me by Melissa Fisher

Bachelor thesis | Kunstgeschiedenis (BA)

The aim of this paper was to analyse Microbial Me by Melissa Fisher in relation to the nature culture-dichotomy. The specific critiques of said dichotomy were taken from Donna Haraway’s concepts of prehensions, companion species and significant otherness. The analysis was done through the frameworks of New Materialism, specifically those relating to bacteria, art and Performative New Materialism. The agencies of the respective elements and agents of the artwork were evaluated. Microbial Me blurs the boundaries between nature and culture by combining the two in its environment and by stretching bacterial agency. It presents critiques of the nature-culture dichotomy by visualising a true nature of bacteria and reminding us that we are part of nature. It showcases the processes that tie us together. Additionally, it reveals the complexities of our relationship with microbes.

bacterial art, nature-culture dichotomy, agency, New Materialism, Donna Haraway

Author

Janiszewska, Paula

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Supervisors

S. Noach

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en