The Colony: An Evo Devo Art Performance on Social Life

The Colony is an opera-theater performance about the evolution of social life in ants and humans. As part of a genre called Evo Devo Art, The Colony takes inspiration from evolutionary and developmental biology (i.e., Evo Devo) in both its subject matter and creation process. The work features projected animations and video, spoken performance, and music for soprano, keyboard, and electronics, composed using algorithms modeled on biological processes. The Colony combines art and science with the two-fold purpose of inspiring appreciation for our diverse biological world and using the ant colony to reflect on the challenges of human connection.