At birth the human is generally considered sterile. From the first seconds of life, the newborn’s gut is colonised with microorganisms. In the following years microbe culture will grow immensely and be shaped by the body’s environment and social interactions. The genomes of these microbial symbionts defined as the ‘microbiome’ live in symbiosis with the human body.

The microbiome is part of the unconscious system regulating immune functions, cognition, learning, and memory. Without microbes, humans would be unhealthy, non-social beings. Especially through body odour, the microbiome communicates information about their host to the outside world while responding to other micro-biomes instinctively. This ability to influence behaviour has heralded the microbiome as the next frontier for health sciences, commerce, and even politics.
Investigating the consequences of design’s ability to influence instinctual behaviour, A Wildlife presents three skin fragrances that act as a carrier for invisible communication and influencing.