Maja Smrekar is a Master of Art and a researcher of the changes in our society brought about by the use of new technologies. The sensibility, the alienation and vulnerability of individuals struggling to keep up with the rapidly evolving environment are themes that she explores in her projects, which problematize digital aesthetics, the invasive nature of communication technologies, cybernetics, bionics, synthetic biology, the design of living organisms, etc. Her art studio is a biotechnological laboratory, where she collaborates with scientists and technicians, in order to create works that question the coexistence of man, animals and machines.

The K-9_topology project is a monumental work, the fruit of nearly four years of research and collaboration between numerous individuals and institutions, led by Smrekar’s artistic vision. It was awarded as an opus at the most important international festival for art, technology and society, the Ars Electronica in Linz. Smrekar was the first female artist in the history of the hybrid art category to receive the Golden Nica, the highest recognition of the Prix Ars Electronica.

K-9_topology is a work emerging from the scientific and technological avant-garde, tackling not only present-day dilemmas, but also some of the ethical challenges that await us in the future.