Mehrta Shirzadian: Microbial Governance

Mehrta Shirzadian: Microbial Governance

21.01.2026
22.-23.1, 26.-27.1.2026, 15-18 Uhr
19:00-21:30 Uhr
Kirchengasse 48, 1070 Wien
Eintritt frei

Performance, Exhibtion

In Microbial Governance, Mehrta Shirzadian develops a performance and installation consisting of two video projections and a standing object produced through a live ritual performance. One video work is based on the daily changes of the vaginal microbiome and visualizes cyclical shifts within this internal ecosystem. The second video projection presents internal bodily footage captured with an endoscopic camera, combined with visual material derived from real microbiome samples. During the performance, Shirzadian positions her body directly on the projected images, engaging with video, critical data, and ignored forms of embodied knowledge and material.

Mehrta Shirzadian is a performance artist and artistic researcher working at the intersection of body-based practices, video, and biological systems. With a background in molecular biology, her work focuses on internal bodily processes and questions how neglected biological systems can be approached as active agents rather than passive objects of scientific observation, with an emphasis on embodiment and the influence of external forces on bodily experience.

k48@olliwood.at,
https://www.oliverhangl.com/news
Fb: k48 – Offensive für zeitgenössische Wahrnehmung
Insta: k48 – Projektraum Oliver Hangl

Fotocredit: Mehrta Shirzadian