Thanatosis

The artistic project Thanatosis explores the fine line between life and death, vulnerability and resistance. It opens the cycle “Survival Strategies.”

At the core of its reflection is a biological phenomenon: a protective mechanism found in certain species of animals, insects, reptiles, and birds, which involves entering a state of feigned death when faced with a threat.

This sudden dysfunction confuses the predator: the one who was meant to become prey transforms into an object of no interest or an inconvenient target.

Scientists have succeeded in proving that thanatosis can be both an individual and a collective strategy. In 2023, for instance, entire colonies of polyrhachis femorata ants in Australia were observed playing dead. This became the first documented example of collective freezing as a means of survival.

The project examines feigned death as a complex and paradoxical form of resilience. It serves as a metaphor for the search for safety in an environment where direct confrontation is impossible, and where strategic, deterrent numbness becomes the ultimate form of protection.