ABOUT ARTIST:

Gustavo (Oglinda) Castillo is a bio-artist who creates his work using “living” materials, ranging from bacteria and fungi to bioplastics and plants. 

His current projects revolve around intuitive algorithms, machine learning, and 3.0 web linked to decentralized data and manufacturing technologies. 

His hobbies include paleontology, skydiving, and archery. 

SUBMISSION: “Amicus”

“Amicus” (lat. for friend) – a 1 cm3 wood sculpture of a dog. Just like our ancestors molded and carved modern-day dogs from their wild predecessors, this sculpture is carved out of cedar wood by a human’s hand. Even though human – Canis lupus relationship may have started as simple egoistic coexistence it has long ago transcended those mercantile bonds. Our predecessors maybe unknowingly have created this very strong and precious connection with life on Earth by tying up human and man-molded dog psyche so tightly. 

This tiny sculpture was created to remind the new space travelers of one of the fundamental bonds of humanity since in the face of the new space race, a worthwhile question arises: What will we do with our canine companions once we have made the next step towards new horizons? Will they go by our side as they’ve always done since the beginning? Will there be a path towards the arcane horizon of the Universe to be shared with “man’s best friend”? I hope so…