Symbiotic Marathon is an exercise program for the future.

In a near future where breathable air is no longer guaranteed (for humans or for plants) this program trains the body to notice our mutualistic relations. SYMBIOTIC MARATHON asks: Who will breathe for us when the air grows too thick? How might we soften into ecological kinship through shared breath, exertion, and intimacy with plants?
Participants are invited to run not for fitness or escape, but for mutual survival.

Merinda Davies (b.1991, Bundjalung Country NNSW, lives and works from Kombumerri Country SEQLD) is an artist, performer and curator, investigating how we might thrive rather than merely survive within the realities of ecological collapse. At the core of her practice is a commitment to sensory and sensual intelligence as a foundation for relationality, between humans, other-than-human beings, and the landscapes we co-inhabit. She creates installations, videos and performances that ask how we might reorient ourselves within the present through speculating on future worlds.

Merinda’s solo and collaborative projects have most recently been commissioned by: Moreton Bay Regional Gallery, The Condensery, Arts Northern Rivers, Lismore Regional Gallery, HOTA, Home of the Arts, CoCA Centre of Contemporary Art (Ōtautahi), Metro Arts, Institute of Modern Art, Blue Mountains Gallery, Liveworks Performance Space, Critical Path, City of Gold Coast, Outer Space and The Walls Artspace.

She is an artistic advisor and regular collaborator with The Farm, and has recently designed for projects, Hold me Closer Tony Danza, TEN, Social Muscle Club(GC & Berlin) and Das Experiment (Berlin). And she is one half of projects; Umwelt Collective and Parks Anonymous.

Her curatorial projects include; co-curation of live performances in Kirsha Kaechele's Ladies Lounge at HOTA for BLEACH* Festival 2025, temporary public art exhibition project softwash with PUBLIC PALACE 2025, Last Sundays with The Walls 2020-21, Social Muscle Club with The Farm.

This is a free event, and all are welcome to attend, engage and explore, respectfully. There will be a licenced bar with non-alcoholic options.

Please be advised that this exhibition includes sound and light which could affect individuals with sensitivities; if you have any concerns, please contact our team for assistance and accommodations.

ACCESSIBILITY: The gallery is wheelchair accessible from the Brunswick St entrance. Please note due to current building works at the Judith Wright Arts Centre, the passenger lift is not usable. Bathrooms can be accessed from the Level 1 courtyard entrance of the Judith Wright Arts Centre.

If you have any specific access needs or questions, please either email admin@outerspacebrisbane.org or send us a message on Instagram.

Outer Space is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, the Australian Government through Creative Australia and the Outer Space community.

Image courtesy of Merinda Davies

Contact the host of Symbiotic Marathon - Merinda Davies Exhibition Opening