We Are Lichen | Chelsea Cooke

We Are Lichen is a response to the scientific and philosophical theory of the holobiont ー the sum of a living being and all of the micro symbionts living on or within it ー whose study has challenged and disrupted the boundaries that once defined the ‘individual.’ I am drawn to the miracles of evolution, how life came to be and how it evolved from single celled organisms to the collective symbionts we are today. Personally, I found strange comfort in knowing I am not a singular self drifting through space. I am composed of billions of other lifeforms that account for 90% of ‘my’ body; this knowledge instills upon me a feeling of responsibility that extends beyond my own interests.