Yeast Metaphors beyond Machines

Although many thinkers have discouraged the use of metaphors in describing natural phenomena due to their imprecision, numerous scientific theories have developed from analogies between studied phenomena and unrelated things and everyday practices (Kuhn, 1993). At the same time, each metaphor used in science not only significantly influences further investigation of the studied phenomenon but can also impact the cosmological visions, political decisions, social policies, and even what is perceived as "natural" and what is not (Larson, 2011).

This paper focuses on metaphors used in relation to yeast biology and yeast-based biotechnology. Yeasts are one-celled fungi that are instrumental in contemporary biotechnology and bioengineering. They are often discussed in scientific texts and scientific communication in mechanistic terms such as "cell factories," "molecular machineries," "yeast chassis," and so forth. Although widely accepted, such machine-related metaphors referring to microbial fungi are problematic, as they systematically disregard some of the characteristics of living beings, limit the ways they are studied (Nicholson, 2014), and, essentially, convey a vision of life as fully controllable (Boldt, 2018; Vaage, 2020). In the context of ecological issues, treating living beings as machines creates overreliance on technological and biotechnological solutions to mitigate environmental crises (Boldt, 2018). At the same time, necessary socio-political transformations and changes in production and consumption are set aside. Moreover, the omnipresence of mechanistic language in biotechnological discourses inhibits the introduction of other visions and alternative figures of speech in yeast research.

In contrast to the dominance of machine metaphors and mechanistic language, this paper, drawing on the work of Nora Vaage (2020), will discuss yeast metaphors and conceptions created and conveyed by contemporary art practices with yeasts. I will examine artworks that playfully engage with the notions of control and randomness and develop procedures in which the fungi grow beyond artistic control. Analyzing how these projects apply DIY and biology methods, I will argue that these works go beyond the perception of yeasts as controllable "molecular machineries" and open up diverse avenues for the conceptualization of yeasts.