Dia dedicated his residency to the research and collection of materials for a future media art project on the topic of rural/urban transformation under the working title “Citizenship Animalia,” which attempts to develop new metaphors and explore fresh perspectives on the relationship of city dwellers with the animals co-inhabiting the urban environment in rapidly expanding cities. As part of his long term ambition of transmitting and fostering a Biotechnology OpenLab movement among creatives in Egypt, Dia is also seeking to explore and develop partnerships with local Indonesian scientists, artists, journalists and makers who work in microbiology based research and communication.
The House Of Natural Fiber (HONF) started as the community run Yogyakarta New Media Art Laboratory based on a methodology called Open-Community, which worked mostly on cross-collaborative actions responding to technological development and its practical use in daily life. As a historically and socially specific interpretation of four key avant-garde principles: to break with the autonomy of art, engage with the praxis of life, provide utopian visions, and present aesthetic innovation, the HONF art projects explore the interaction between life, art, science and technology in both practical and aesthetic ways.