EX UTERO | 2025
In the face of the sixth mass extinction, driven by human activity, fantasies of „turning back time” have resurfaced—most notably through attempts to bring extinct species back to life. Breakthroughs in genetic engineering, particularly CRISPR-Cas9 technology, are expected to make such efforts possible. Founded in 2021, the company Colossal Biosciences has announced plans to resurrect three species in the coming years: the dodo bird, the Tasmanian tiger, and the woolly mammoth. This process of so-called de-extinction involves using preserved genetic material from extinct animals and modifying selected genes to enable these organisms to survive in present-day environmental conditions. The outcome will not be true genetic replicas, but hybrid creatures—phenotypic clones equipped with additional, bioengineered adaptive traits. Such practices raise fundamental questions about the status of these beings: not only biological, but also legal and ethical. These animals will be more than living organisms—they will be biotechnological products, whose ontological and juridical standing remains ambiguous. As corporate property, they may be subjected to experimental procedures, co-opted into biopolitical agendas, or incorporated into branding and marketing strategies.

The Ex Utero project explores the entanglements between humans and animals, arguing that the idea of de-extinction is not a radical gesture of repair, but rather a continuation of the very philosophy that precipitated the biodiversity crisis in the first place. By juxtaposing natural history exhibits, taxidermied animals, and contemporary biotechnology, the project challenges the scientistic narrative of human control over life and destabilizes the motivations behind Colossal Biosciences’ ambitions. The exhibition seeks to restore a sense of subjectivity to animals, rejecting the binary between nature and culture and emphasizing the urgent need for coexistence with other forms of life.