About me
Ricou makes living assemblages, paintings and participatory performances that complicate the boundaries between figure and ground to explore themes of identity and connection.
The living assemblages are made from the collection of environmental and human debris at specific sites that are combined with traditional media in the laboratory. The naturally occurring microbiome then is allowed to grow and respond as an autonomous medium or collaborator.
This conceptual focus anchors projects such as Other Self, which explores how the microbiome challenges the historic view of the self as a contained, indivisible entity, highlighted as a Nature cover in 2012.
Originally from Portugal, Joana Ricou is a contemporary bioartist based in New York. Joana has presented work nationally and internationally including the at Ponce Museo de Arte, Sao Paulo Cultural Center, Champalimaud Center (Portugal), Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Science Center and Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. She has received awards such as Welcome Fund commission (2015), Museum of Life and Science commission (2016), Micro Spark award from the Sprout Fund (2012).
Contact Joana at jiricou@gmail.com
Exhibition History
Image licensing
Images of Joana's works have been used in scientific journals, newspapers, books and major movie productions.
Please e-mail jiricou@gmail.com to request a license.
