VENICE.- The Metabolic Guide to Space Survival is a multidisciplinary installation by artist Kristina Pulejkova that explores microbial life as the foundation to long-term survival in Space. Framed through the voice of the fictional character Chief Bioengineer Mira Kordan aboard the starship Möbius, the installation blends science fiction and applied science to present a speculative and rigorously researched vision of life beyond Earth. Presented at Universe Pavilion, the space, art and architecture exhibition Sheltering in Space: A Guide, curated by Claudia Schnugg at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, The Metabolic Guide to Space Survival runs from May 10 to July 31, 2025, at Fàbrica 33 in Venice, Italy.

At the heart of the project is a radical proposition that draws on contemporary bioengineering techniques to imagine a future sustained by yeast, fungi and other fermenting agents. The work unfolds across three interwoven forms: a speculative design toolkit housed in a yellow suitcase, a narrative ‘How To’ guide, and an architectural installation animated by holographic projections of Mira navigating life in zero gravity.

Developed in collaboration with the Technical University of Vienna, BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences), and the University of Vienna, and supported by the European and Italian Space Agencies, the project is grounded in real-world applications of microbial life for food production, medicine and resource recycling. Written from Mira’s perspective, the guide offers instructions on how to use microbes in space using the tools in the suitcase, including a three-course microbial menu: a starter, main course and a cheesecake dessert, all conceived in collaboration with scientist Diethard Mattanovich and made entirely from living cultures.

The toolkit offers ‘essentials’ for space-bound travellers: sourdough starters sealed in glass ampules, a gold-particle gene gun, and a zero-gravity bioreactor - each designed to support life beyond Earth.

The architectural installation offers audiences a glimpse into a life-size tunnel mimicking the interior of the starship Möbius. A holographic projection of Mira floats through the laboratory, living quarters, and cosmic vistas. Her voice drifts through the hum of machinery, sharing humour-infused logbook reflections on survival, ethics, and the ecological precarity of celestial and Earth-bound sealed environments.

Marrying her deep personal interests in the microscopic and macroscopic aspects of life and applied science, the project allowed Kristina to explore how life is sustained in precarious environments and highlight fungi's role as catalysts for life.

“I’m excited to present The Metabolic Guide to Space Survival during the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. With this work, I’m blending speculative design and science to explore how life might thrive in the most extreme environments. I want viewers to think about the future not just in terms of technology, but in terms of microbial life, the original bioengineers” – Kristina Pulejkova

The Metabolic Guide to Space Survival underpins the idea of radical circularity through a closed-loop ecosystem where every input and output is recycled. Using humour and speculative design, Kristina offers an insight into today's cutting-edge science and how it might evolve in the future. Taking the hermetically sealed environment of a spacecraft as a starting point, The Metabolic Guide to Space Survival probes the bio-political stakes of space travel and offers a mirror to Earth’s fragile ecosystems.

Informed by science and technology. Kristina’s work explores how the use of technology might lead to greater forms of sustainability in human-nature relationships. Working across moving image, sound and installation, Kristina aims to build subjective narratives based on scientific data and principles.