The only thing which is constant is change

Atelier Talk with Monica C. LoCascio

Monica, thank you for having me here in your studio, embedded among other artists' studios. Am I right to assume that you like to work collectively?

What is your current project?
 

Can you tell a bit about your artistic style, what kind of techniques and materials do you use?

My current practice considers the materiality of invisible phenomena that are integral to bodies’ understanding of their ability to create new realities for communities and the planet. My collaboration with micro-organisms is an essential part of my formal, activist, and metaphorical practice.
 
In particular I use found and salvaged fiber, usually from the collections of deceased individuals, to hand-crochet soft sculptures ranging in size from table-top to room-filling, and embroider onto textiles made from self-grown SCOBYs made through a fermentation process. Through the algorithmic iterations of my stitching, I am researching and illuminating the compounding and exponential geometries that exist within subjects like epigenetics, evolution, and theoretical quantum physics’ handling of non-linear time or superposition theory.
 
Furthermore my work ties into examining hierarchies of knowledge and power. Through the use of craft and fermentation (which is essentially a collaboration with microorganisms) in a fine-art context, I speak to topics such as reproductive labor and matriarchal studies, the importance of embodied (rather than institutional) knowledge, and the essentialism of collaborating with and honoring our non-human symbionts.
 

Variations on the Amniote Theme (Passenger VII), 2025
Hand-crocheted organic unbleached cotton cord, salvaged glass vitrine and metal stand, mirror, bacterial cellulose, fermenting tea, beet juice, flies. Dimensions Variable. Photo © Rois Stubenrach
 

What would you say brought you there?

My work with epigenetic memory began while working on my master's thesis with Art & Science with research based on my life, my long struggle with PTSD, how the body holds memory, and the profound healing capacity of repetitive, art-making practices to heal trauma. It eventually employed research on fermentation, the microbiome, somatic therapies, “outsider” art, non-linear quantum time theory, and auto-theoretical feminist writing practice. It was also the beginning of my collaboration with microorganisms and my work with SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast).

Since completing my master's in early 2021, my work has continued to be informed by the empowerment, healing, forms, choreographies, theories, and philosophies that are implicated by the idea of epigenetics. It also brought me to my research on endosymbiosis, which I find to be a rich metaphorical ground for many of the philosophical topics that guide my work. I am profoundly interested in how questions instigated by epigenetics contribute to understanding our ancient symbiotic origins, remembering and imagining our profound connection to other living organisms by examining the geometries of extrapolation and iteration, dreaming better futures through understanding our bodies’ capacity to evolve, and practicing therapeutic choreographies that illuminate our ability to heal.

This work has only strengthened my commitment to exploring how memory and information is held in and transmitted by all materials, and to only using authentic and considered materials in my art works.
 

Do you know the patterns or have a concept ready before grabing a needle, or do you sometimes just start and see where it leads you?

Does it mean that you always have “research” in mind while stitching?

What do you love about working with living beings, bacteria?

Your passion for art started at a very young age. Can you tell us more about that time?
 

I learned how to crochet and embroider when I was 5 years old. My grandfather’s twin sister, Aunt Mary Lou, and my gramma Dolores taught me. I have vivid memories of sitting on the floor of my gramma’s living room in the summer time crocheting blankets out of bright acrylic yarn. I did it so much that eventually I could crochet without looking.

Imagining that scene seems very comforting.


You are a mother now. How do you manage the work and private life balance?
 

It’s difficult, but I’m much more productive now. I wasted so much time before I had my kid! Now I am able to prioritize and set boundaries around my time and energy in ways that used to be very difficult for me. I also find myself being much more present in my body and in my practice when I’m in the studio because it is such precious time.

Is your child interested in what you do?
 

Yes, my kid is already so creative and artistic, and she loves my work, she says it’s “Boofuhloo.”
 

Back to this space, your current studio, which is coordinated by WESTspace, an organisation you are also working with. Usually, WESTspaces are rented on a temporary basis, which also means that in a few years you need to relocate again?

I'm not afraid of change and it's a natural way of things. Actually, I quite appreciate this aging and changing and living in the movement. Nothing is stable, nothing is certain. The only certainty is change, right?

Word [smiles]. Thank you Monica, for giving us insights and personal thoughts about your life and work. It is always a pleasure meeting you, so it was today.

Thank YOU Gerda!!

I hope, we will continuously see artwork of yours. Especially your room taking textile sculptures made of natural materials are very impressing to me.

pdf of Monica's Art & Science Master's Thesis

MONICA C. LOCASCIO
@monicadem
www.monicaclocascio.com/
Monica C. LoCascio @Art&Science

Interview conducted by Gerda Tschoerdy Fischbach, April 2026