Maria Kobylenko is a transdisciplinary artist and freelance multimedia designer working for artists, cultural and commercial clients. Her practice spans myco materials, 3D animations, and A/V live performances, grounded in New Materialism and Posthumanism. By examining mycelium as a socio-artistic medium, she creates objects, leads workshops, and collaborates with the Mitkunstzentrale at the Pilz Kunst Labor. She is inspired by the lessons of fungal networks. Not only biologically, like living in symbiosis, waste-free existence, and healing polluted ecosystems, but also as metaphorical models for rethinking society.
One of her recurring topics is the investigation of environmental perception, particularly in relation to technological developments. She asks: What does nature mean, and what is natural? Are technology and nature opposites? Can biomimetic imitation lead to cross-species ecological thinking and community? Understanding the interdependence of the human and the more-than-human, physical and virtual, space and experience is crucial to her practice.
Bruno Latour once said, “Whereas in the days of ploughs we could only scratch the surface of the soil, today we have the power to weave ourselves into the very molecular machinery of soil bacteria.” That idea resonates deeply with Maria — it reminds us how intimately connected we are to the hidden workings of our complex world. Because of this, she believes it’s essential to foster transdisciplinary approaches and immersive, hands-on experiences, whether through workshops, exhibitions, or community events, that make knowledge accessible to everyone. With so much information at our fingertips and innovative tools available, people now have the chance to understand the intricate, often unseen processes that shape our environment. Moreover, she thinks it’s important to craft stories that do more than predict a bleak future. By using speculative fiction to imagine alternative futures, she aims to inspire action and shift the narrative towards one of possibility and transformation.
As an immigrant in Berlin, Maria has lived at the intersection of diverse cultures, (hi)stories, and political realities, which has strengthened her resistance to all forms of oppression and violence. Be it war, totalitarian regimes, or any ideology of destroying democracy or our ecosystem. She rejects every form of discrimination and injustice rooted in racism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, sexism, or speciesism. She envisions a future where every being is valued and embraced by a community built on equality, dignity, and compassion.