Guy Ben-Ary

Guy Ben-Ary
Born1967 (age 58–59)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Western Australia
Known forBio-art, cybernetics, tissue engineering, neural networks
MovementBio-art, Electronic art
Websitehttps://www.guybenary.com/

Guy Ben-Ary, is an Australian bio-artist and researcher specilizing in biotechnological art. Based in Perth, he has worked as a core researcher at SymbioticA, an artistic laboratory focused on the life sciences at the University of Western Australia. His work combines biological tissues, sound synthesis, and robotics to investigate themes related to life, consciousness, and identity.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

Guy Ben-Ary was born in 1967 in Los Angeles, California, and spent his early years in Israel. Ben-Ary's academic background includes studies in the humanities and law, which informed his interest in societal structures and ethics before his shft toward the life sciences. He attended the University of Western Australia (UWA), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (LLB). Instead of pursuing a conventional legal career.[4]

Career

Guy Ben-Ary began his career working at the intersection of cybernetics, tissue engineering, and robotics within biological art. In 2001, he joined SymbioticA, the Centre of Excellence for Biological Arts at the University of Western Australia, as a core researcher and artist. His early work focused on the cultural implications of emerging biotechnologies, particularly the concept of "Iiminal life," referring to biological matter existing between living tissue and machine. Using collaborative approaches, his projects involved visualizing real-time data from neural networks by integrating them with robotic systems to interact with the physical environment.[5]

Ben-Ary's artistic practice began with his participation in the Tissue Culture and Art Project from 1999 to 2003, collaborating with artists Oron Catts and lonat Zurr.[6] His work involves using biological laboratory techniques such as tissue culture, tissue engineering, electrophysiology, and microscopy as part of his artistic process. His work addresses themes at the intersection of art and science, including life and death, cybernetics, and artificial life. He employs biotechnologies in a manner intended to challenge conventional perspectives, presenting scenarios that aim to provoke public discussion on emerging biotechnologies.[7][8] Ben-Ary's early projects include Fish and Chips (2001), MEART (2001–2005), Silent Barrage (2009–2013), and In-Potentia (2013–2017). These works involved the cultivation of in-vitro neural networks, sometimes described as "brains," grown on specialized electrophysiological interfaces and integrated with robotic systems.[9][10][11][12]

In 2015, Ben-Ary presented cellF, described as a neural synthesiser and a significant work in biological art. The project explores "in-vitro intelligence" by connecting biological neural networks, grown from reprogrammed skin cells, with robotic and electronic systems. The cultured network of neurons functions as an external, in-vitro "brain."[13][14][15] In February 2020, Ben-Ary, together with Nathan Thompson and scientist Sebastian Diecke, presented Bricolage, a performative biological kinetic installation.[16][17] Produced by the Perth International Arts Festival in collaboration with the SymbioticA Centre of Excellence in Biological Arts at the University of Western Australia, the installation features living microscopic biological automatons capable of real-time movement, self-assembly, and manipulation. These structures were created by repurposing white blood cells from anonymous donors using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, differentiating them into twitching cardiomyocytes, and culturing them on custom three-dimensional silk scaffolds.[18]

In 2023, Guy Ben-Ary's Mucic for Surrogate Performer was commissioned by the Venice Biennale as a biomusic project exploring postmortem identity and biological agency. Developed with collaborators Nathan Thompson, Darren Moore, Andrew Fitch, and neuroscientist Stuart Hodgetts, the work involved collaboration with composer Alvin Lucier, who donated blood cells prior to his death.[19][20] Using iPSC technology, these cells were reprogrammed into a living neural network on a microchip. This biological network functions as a "surrogate performer," replacing the live human performer in Lucier's 1965 piece Music for Solo Performer. Custom software translates the neural activity into real-time control of percussive instruments. The installation was featured as part of the 2025 exhibition Revivification at the Art Gallery of Western Australia.[21][22]

Guy Ben-Ary presented Revivification in April 2025, an immersive bio-art sound installation at the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA).[23] Developed over six years by the Revivification Collective, which includes Ben-Ary, artists Nathan Thompson and Matt Gingold, and neuroscientist Stuart Hodgetts, the installation expands on themes from the 2023 piece Music for Surrogate Performer.[24] It explores biological agency, artificial intelligence, and the preservation of creative legacy after death.[25][26][27]

Awards and honors

• VIDA International Competition for Art and Artificial Life (2009): First prize for the robotic installation Silent Barrage, co-created with Phil Gamblen and the SymbioticA Research Group.[28]

• Japan Media Arts Festival (2021): Award of Excellence in the Art Division for Bricolage.

• Falling Wall Award (2024): Global winner in the Art & Science category.[29]

References

  1. ↑ "Guy Ben-Ary". the UWA Profiles and Research Repository. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  2. ↑ "Guy Ben-Ary | Berlin Science Week". berlinscienceweek.com. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  3. ↑ Kirsten Hudson. "Guy Ben-Ary: Brain-body compatability for the 21st century". Artlink. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  4. ↑ "Guy BEN-ARY". JAPAN MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  5. ↑ "Guy Ben-Ary, Artist Talk with Guy Ben-Ary". Art Laboratory Berlin. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  6. ↑ "Publications". The Tissue Culture & Art Project. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  7. ↑ Joachim, Mitchell (2014-02-13). "These artists use cells, proteins, tissues and DNA as their materials | TED Blog". Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  8. ↑ Team, Contemporary Lynx (2018-06-23). "DISTINCTIVENESS. AN INTERVIEW WITH JADWIGA CHARZYŃSKA | Contemporary Lynx - magazine on art & visual culture". contemporarylynx.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  9. ↑ Lakshmi Sandhana (2003-07-28). "Rat-brained robot does distant art". BBC News. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  10. ↑ "Robots and Art – Exploring an Unlikely Symbiosis | Robotic Art". roboticart.org. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  11. ↑ Bakkum, Douglas J.; Gamblen, Philip M.; Ben-Ary, Guy; Chao, Zenas C.; Potter, Steve M. (2007-11-02). "MEART: the semi-living artist". Frontiers in Neurorobotics. 1: 5. doi:10.3389/neuro.12.005.2007. ISSN 1662-5218. PMC 2533587. PMID 18958276.
  12. ↑ Gorman, Michael John (2010-09-01). "Silence is golden: Phil Gamblen and Guy Ben-Ary". Nature Medicine. 16 (9): 945. doi:10.1038/nm0910-945. ISSN 1546-170X. PMID 20823864.
  13. ↑ "A rock star in a Petri dish". Leiden University. 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  14. ↑ Taylor, Andrew (2016-06-06). "'Rock star in a petri dish': Guy Ben-Ary harvests cells to create an external brain to play music". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  15. ↑ Fernández, Clara Rodríguez (2017-05-20). "A Concert Played by Human Neurons on a Petri Dish". Labiotech.eu. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  16. ↑ Magazine, CLOT (2020-05-16). "Guy Ben-Ary, Nathan Thompson and Sebastian Diecke Bricolage". Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  17. ↑ "Ars Electronica Archive". archive.aec.at. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  18. ↑ McDonald, John (2020-02-21). "John Prince Siddon: eclectic, gothic and psychedelic". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  19. ↑ "Biennale Musica 2023 | Biennale Musica 2023: the festival Micro-Music is dedicated to digital sound". La Biennale di Venezia. 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  20. ↑ Brennan, Rosamund (2025-04-08). "The composer still making music four years after his death – thanks to an artificial brain". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  21. ↑ "Lab-grown brain tissue of late composer making music at AGWA". The West Australian. 2025-08-02. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  22. ↑ Marissa Cetin (2025-04-15). "Lab-grown 'brain' made of late composers' blood cells creates new music posthumously". DJ Mag. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  23. ↑ Katz, Leslie. "Composer's Lab-Grown Brain Makes New Music — Four Years After He Died". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  24. ↑ Fortescue, Elizabeth (2025-03-27). "'Brain' of late composer lives on in show at the Art Gallery of Western Australia". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  25. ↑ "Revivification". The Art Gallery of Western Australia. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  26. ↑ Sugiura, Allison Parshall, Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Alex. "Experimental Music Meets Neuroscience in a Haunting New Installation". Scientific American. Retrieved 2026-06-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ↑ Veltman, Chloe (2025-04-13). "An American composer's biological matter creates new music from beyond the grave". NPR. Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  28. ↑ "Cybernetic Creativity and the Future of Art: Guy Ben-Ary in conversation with Lanfranco Aceti | LASALLE College of the Arts". Retrieved 2026-06-03.
  29. ↑ "Guy Ben-Ary | Falling Walls". falling-walls.com (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-03.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.