Nazi̇f Can Akçalı

Installation

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Magia comestibilis is a film installation that explores our relationship with food through a reflection on longevity, biohacking, symbiosis and gastronomy. It explores the possibility of creating food out of the collaboration between humans, bacteria and artificial intelligence, a food that may help develop immortality.

The project brings together the food traditions of Sardinia’s Blue Zone and the practices of contemporary biohackers. On the one hand, the Sardinian centenarians embody an ancestral wisdom based on simplicity, the land and social ties; on the other, the biohackers explore the limits of life through science, technology and new diets.

In this dialogue, artificial intelligence creates the link between ancestral knowledge and contemporary innovation: it generates recipes based on biohacking products, food from the Blue Zones and scientific data. These dishes are then made and eaten in the film.

The accompanying installation offers a sensory experience fusing visual, edible and biological elements: viewers taste the food created, observe fermentations and follow the film. Somewhere between art, science and gastronomy, Magia comestibilis invites us to reflect on life and death, placing food at the centre of our biological transformation.

Nazi̇f Can Akçalı

Born in Manisa, Türkiye, in 1996, Nazif Can Akçalı lives and works in Paris. He is a Franco-Turkish visual artist, visual communication designer and Pilates instructor. Graduating in 2021 from the Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design programme at Sabancı University in Istanbul, he went on to study for a master’s degree at the École supérieure d’art Dunkerque-Tourcoing and also did The Gramounce Food & Art Alternative MA. He has taken part in artistic residencies at the Institute of Postnatural Studies in Madrid and La Foresta – Accademia di Comunità in Rovereto, Italy. His artistic research explores notions of longevity, biohacking, biochemistry, gastrophysics and food, using a variety of media including video, installation, painting and photography. Working with bacteria, he explores forms of symbiosis through evolving installations that change over time. He also questions our perception of food, making the act of eating becomes an artistic experience. He has received a number of awards and exhibited his work in many art venues and festivals, including:
From Sketch to Pixel: Digital Art Exhibition – Sığınak (Ankara, 2024),
Young Fresh Different – Zilberman Gallery (Istanbul, 2024),
Hyperthyme – Espacio Gaviota (Madrid, 2024),
Carte Blanche Étudiants (finalist) – Paris Photo (Paris, 2024),
Mamut Art Project – Bomonti Ada (Istanbul, 2024),
Well 24 – Louvre-Lens (Lens, 2024),
Lille Art Up! – Lille Grand Palais (Lille, 2024),
40th and 41st Contemporary Artists' Prizes – Akbank Sanat (Istanbul, 2022 & 2023),
Rotary International Short Film Festival (Gaziantep & Samsun, 2020 & 2023),
BASE 2020 – Tophane-i Amire Art and Culture Centre (Istanbul, 2020),
ALC Videoart Festival – Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Alicante (Alicante, 2020).

Production

Partner

Credits

› Scientific Collaborations: David Dauvillée and Corentin Spriet, CNRS researchers for UGSF (Unit of Structural and Functional Glycobiology) and PLBS (Lille Platforms in Biology and Health)
› Collaborations with Biohacking Tool and Food Product Producers: Black Stuff, CytoLed, London Nootropics, Lucky Iron Life, Luminette, Mitolight, MitoZen Scientific, Muse, Pulsio, RA Optics, THERA Nordic, Vielight, WeFood

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Orosei Adventures (Simone Dessena and Melina Helm) for their invaluable support during the filming in Sardinia, and for giving me the opportunity to collaborate with their community. Thanks to Tattanu Pais and Angelo Mula for welcoming us to their sheepfolds during the shoot in Dorgali, Sardinia. Thanks to Tattanu Milia, Tzia Chicca Todde and her family for sharing with me their experiences of longevity. My gratitude also goes to the entire team at Le Fresnoy – Studio national for their dedication and guidance: Bruno Morat, Cyprien Quiriat, Claire Pollet, Benjamin Menery, François Bedhomme, Sébastien Cabour, Thibaut William, Alexandre Peschmann, Thomas Léon, Blandine Tourneux, Manu Martin, Pascale Pronnier, Luc-Jérôme Bailleul, François Bonenfant.