First manifesto of the grassroots movement United Holobiontic Protection Alliance (UHPA)
2025
mit Oliver Westerbarkey und Rasso Rottenfußer
First manifesto of the grassroots movement United Holobiontic Protection Alliance (UHPA) on May 29 at the Kapferhof near Munich and in the Munich Botanical Garden.
* Holobiont is a concept from biology that refers to a community of organisms that live in symbiosis with each other and are considered a single functional unit, a kind of ecosystem. The properties of a holobiont are unstable; however, there is a constant negotiation, a kind of transformative dialogue between all the organisms connected within it. Humans themselves are a classic example of a holobiont. They are not only organisms, but also ecosystems of microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, that live in and on their bodies. Animals, plants, and even the earth are also single large holobionts in which humans play only a modest role.
We humans are not isolated points, but nodes in a global network. This insight must be understood, embodied, and incorporated into politics. “Politics must take the form of art, of an experiment. It must go beyond protesting against power and must create things.”
From the text In April of this year, Judith Egger was a founding member of the global grassroots movement “United Holobiontic Protection Alliance” (UHPA). She slipped into the costume of a cockroach, while the other three holobionts in the group consist mainly of organic material (hay, grass, wood, jute, and tights). Each of these holobionts represents a metaorganism that harbors many smaller organisms. It is an important part of the “web of life” that sustains us all. Most holobionts speak languages that are inaudible to humans, so the artist has made herself available to speak for them and advocate for their interests and rights. To this end, she uses a universal spoken language. The content of what is said is vague, but the emotion is very clear. It is about appealing, stirring people up, and awakening empathy and community. The first manifesto of the grassroots movement “United Holobiontic Protection Alliance (UHPA)” was announced on May 29 at the Kapferhof near Munich as part of the exhibition “on land” and repeated in the summer at the Botanical Garden during the closing event of the exhibition SCHEINTDURCHDRINGEND (SEEMS URGENT) by Oliver Westerbarkey and Rasso Rottenfußer in Munich.
This first manifesto was an urgent call to respect the interests and rights of holobionts and to protect the fragile balance of life on Earth. It is about a new relationship with all living things, one that is not characterized by dominance, separation, and subjugation, but by knowledge of mutual dependence and deep connectedness.
We need things that move us, such as art, music, festivals, social actions, but also “carnival,” as Akomolafe says with a smile. It is no coincidence that he chooses carnival, which dissolves all hierarchies, turns the world upside down, and allows for a creative play of identities.
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Charlotte Borst
Charlotte Borst
