HUMAN+

Coined in 2019 in response to Donna Haraway’s use of Lyn Margulis term ‘Holobiont’, Human+ is used in some projects on this page to denote the more-than-human as it appears within the vessel of human bodies. Human+ acknowledges that all life is fundamentally symbiotic and collaborative, that the ‘human’ is a site of complex multispecies and multiscalar assemblage. As Rosi Braidotti says ‘the life in me does not answer to my name’.

EXOLOGICAL

Imagined during the 2020 Covid lockdowns in Narrm, the term "exological" is imagined as an extension of ecology, recognising the limitations present in a frame visioned from a heteronormative, euro-centric perspective that emerged in alignment with and historically furthered dualisms such as nature/culture or abiotic/biotic. Exological is offered as a gesture towards the myriad fugitive figures who both commonly evade ecological consideration due to scale of affect (such as bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms) and those new forms who have entered into relational fields in more recent years, such as s genetically modified organisms, artificial life, hybrid bodies and off-planet life-ways. The Exological celebrates the perpetual expansion of interconnection and evolution of both diverse agents and their processes, recognising the science of relation, and embracing transformative potential disruptive, post-natural, or post-human mutation and evolution. The Exological approach rejects the binary and heteronormative frameworks that have limited ecological thought and practice, recognising the fluid and dynamic nature of the relationships between all beings and their environment. It encourages an ethical and respectful engagement with the more-than-human world, promoting a sense of responsibility and care towards all living beings and their habitat.

TRANSTOPIC

In the ever-shifting landscape of post-normal times, transtopic thinking emerges, intertwining transecology, future thinking, and multispecies theory. Inspired by Octavia Butler's wisdom that 'the only lasting truth is change,' it discards binary visions shaped by colonial ideologies. Arising from the development of video work Zero Point in 2021, Transtopia is anchored in lived trans* experiences, it views transition as a continual, iterative process, rejecting rigid conclusions. Posturing itself amid the complexity, transtopic thinking encourages a non-linear, non-teleological approach to understand the constant and emergent nature of change. It challenges the binary pitfalls of utopia and dystopia, offering a dynamic alternative – transtopia. This conceptual, fluid terrain invites engagement with diverse lives intersecting and influencing each other. Rooted in multispecies and intersectional ethics, trans*topic thinking celebrates ongoing processes of becoming, symbolized by the asterisk – an imperative to keep an eye on the margins, where meaning unfolds beyond the known horizon.

A complete definition can be read here.

TRANSPLANETARY

Transplanetary thinking begins from the premise that Earth itself is materially trans and non-binary. Actively defying efforts to diminish its polyphonous processes into neat categories, Earth demonstrates a disregard for fixed forms or stability and instead staying in operpetual motion and ongoing change across every scale, biology and ecology. Through diverse cycles, between forms, through mutations, adaptations, migrations and evolutions earthly life does not hold any form for long, whether it is fresh water becoming ocean, or cloud slung mountain peak becoming sand in the mariana trench, iron moving from collapsing stars into human arteries, or aquifer becoming saliva, sweat and urine, all things are in motion at all times. Playing with this, Transplanetary thinking take a trans lens to earthly life, and identifies non-binary ways of living within change as a method for thriving within ongoing transition. Transplanetary thinking does not await salvific return, or dystopic collapse, but instead recognises that extended transition is itself a place of powerful emergence, ecstatic transformation and new narratives to unfold. When used in the title of 2025 installation Muto: Temple for Transplanetary Regeneration, and accompanying conference talk Trans Plantetary futures: Staying with the change this framework was used to emphasise the unique perspective and lived experience trans communities can bring to global understadning of surviving vast period of upheaval, and flourishing within them. As Robin Kimmerer says in Braiding Sweetgrass ‘…we need to learn to think differently about the kind of subjects we have already become and the process of deep-seated transformation we are undergoing.’

TOXICOCENE

Coined in 2020 during the development of the Emissary 2920 project, Toxicocene joins other of era-oriented words, such as Anthropocene, Capitalocene, and Chthulucene, to foreground the co-contamination and pollution through which all earthly beings are now inextricably linked. It makes explicit the incursion of human-made chemicals, plastics, and other materials as they infiltrate every aspect of earths ecosystems, and all bodies, both individual and collective. The concept of Toxicocene points to a post-normal and post-human future, characterised by forms that are evolving in less familiar, monstrous, or classed as ‘unnatural’. Challenging the traditional notions of what constitutes life, and what kind of existence is possible, Toxicocene is intended as a neutral term that emphasises the need to acknowledge the reality of the present and to generate adaptive visions of what might come next. Toxic thinking encourages a move beyond the binaries of nature/culture, human/non-human, natural/unnatural to recognise the complexity and entanglement of shared existence in a world irrevocably and perpetually altered by the by-products of industrialisation and capitalism.

A complete definition can be read here.

SYMBIOPUNK

Initially coined in 2023 in an effort to name what creative practice was doing rather than what it comprised of, Symbiopunk is a method, process and mode of futuring that foregrounds multispecies collaboration and interdependence. Intended to contribute to the creation of the Symbiocene, it replaces myths of human exceptionalism with a celebration of the messy mutualism of earth ecologies.

Inspired by Lynn Margulis' symbiosis, Glenn Albrechts Symbiocene and founded in the affirmative ethics of Posthumanism, Symbiopunk identifies the future as only emerging through cooperative cooperative and collaborative efforts between diverse species. In her work, Lyn Margulis identifies that the history of earthly life is founded in symbiotic engagement across scales and species. Glenn Albrecht has proposed the Symbiocene as an epoch to follow and replace the anthropocene. The symbiocene is defined by the full reintegration of humans into natural systems emotionally, technologocally and psychologically. Positioned between Margulis and Albrecht, between the ecologic violence and hopeful horizons, Symbiopunk is a intended as a futuring tool. An idealogical, practical and aspirational framework to sow the chaos of the present with the seeds of symbiotic futures and actively contribute to the generation of the Symbiocene.

A complete definition can be read here.

POLY-TEMPORAL

Poly-temporal is a term that has been adopted from music composition and is used in speculative and futures thinking to denote the existence of multiple and divergent futures. It recognizes that the future is not a singular, monolithic entity but a complex and dynamic entity that can be influenced by a range of factors, including human and non-human agency, technological advancements, political, economic and social conditions, and environmental changes. Repurposed Luna Mrozik Gawler and Ana Tiquia for use in the Multispecies Engagement Evaluation Program (2022), Poly-temporality acknowledges that the future is not predetermined or fixed, but is constantly in flux, shaped by multiple forces that operate at different levels and scales. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing and engaging with the diversity of perspectives, values, and interests that shape the future, and encourages the development of strategies that are inclusive, adaptive, and resilient in the face of uncertainty and change. In this sense, poly-temporality highlights the need for creative and imaginative thinking that is open to new possibilities, perspectives, and ways of being in the world.