We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alison Hiltner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alison below.

Alison, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Well, first, I’d say projects are a bit like your children—you can never pick a favorite. But there have definitely been works where the research led me in eye-opening directions. Because of a project created through the Target Collaboration program with the Weisman Museum and the University of Minnesota’s School of Medicine, I was embedded in two cardiac labs. This story is about holding a heart, not the moral implications of animal testing. All cardiac devices are tested in pigs; their hearts are structurally similar to ours. I was observing during an implantation surgery when the head of the lab beckoned me over and said, “Take off your gloves and hold this beating pig heart.” I have no idea how wide my eyes were, but then, in encouragement, he said, “This will probably be your one and only time to hold a beating heart.” And since he was 100% right, I took my gloves off and held the still-beating heart. I promptly burst into tears-I suppose for the simple reason that it was so intense, and I was so amazed we feel our hearts so differently. Our hearts are working so hard, and we barely even feel it. With that, I decided to create “Tethers,” a piece that would enable people to feel their heartbeat. To give them a small taste of the raw power that is our body’s engine.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My day job, so to speak, is working with artists at Soo Visual Arts Center, empowering them to bring their visions to life. I am exceedingly lucky to immerse myself in the arts daily.

In my work as an artist, I am an archeologist of science fiction, exploring its terrain in films, television, and video games, while intertwining these concepts with current scientific inquiry. My visual touchstones combine these subjects to create ever-expanding worlds. And are enriched by visits to laboratories that seek answers to questions plaguing the present and look forward into the future. This unusual temporality imbues my pieces with a fluid sense of time, highlighting how our understanding of the structure and dynamics of complex ecological networks is constantly evolving. By maintaining a sense of wonder, humor, and the absurd, each piece acts as a laboratory of the mind, delicately balancing between reality and artifice, shaped by a fantastical interpretation of scientific principles and the materials, tools, and techniques of science fiction.

For the past ten years, my work has explored the underlying theme of connection—how we communicate, feel, coexist harmoniously, and what causes discord. As someone on the Autism Spectrum, Level 1, I find comfort in imagined worlds where the things that terrify me are transformed and neutralized. With the heart of an investigator and a drive to create new experiences, I have pursued the threads questioning what makes us human for over two decades. Are we separate from the life around us, or, as I believe, are we inextricably linked?

Previously, my explorations focused on human physiological responses, and now I would like to shift my attention to plant life. Plants have often served as a human analog for me, allowing me to borrow aspects of their anatomy and communication quirks to exaggerate human traits. However, what if I were to discover how plants exist—their behaviors and motivations? These organisms are born and die around us repeatedly, while others can live for many lifetimes longer than ours. Could some of these revelations lead to a better understanding of the vast divides that persist within humanity? While these questions are complex and will last my entire life, my core motivation is to create small moments when they don’t feel so overwhelming.

By focusing on commonalities rooted in instinctive, subconscious physiological responses, we can bypass our stumbling blocks to meaning and instead concentrate on the empathy inherent in our existence. Bonds are often formed through non-verbal communication. My most recent series of works, 2024-25, explores connection without written language. All life on Earth shares commonalities; some are obvious, like the need for nutrients, while others are more hidden, such as the structural similarities in mycelial growth patterns and the electrical pulses of plant stimulus responses—both of which create the same pattern. This could be considered a coincidence, but it serves as a starting point for a new system of communication, which is simply an agreed-upon pattern of meaning. My research utilizes these commonalities in physiological responses across species to create visual communication based on actions or reactions that center on a form of abstract honesty. By translating various patterns into visuals, we can enhance our understanding of communication and foster a more empathetic world.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I love this question because it applies to everything I do in life, and I always try to leave the world better than I found it. Granted, it’s a tall order, but not impossible. Maybe this goal isn’t about the big things you do but about the small, everyday actions that make someone feel appreciated and inspired. Really listen when someone is telling their story, and empower them to share it with others.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I tell everyone to stay hungry and curious; it is the only thing that will sustain you through tough times. The times when you’re unsure if anyone is listening or if what you do matters. If you’re pushing forward to learn and gain a better understanding of the world, success feels different. Do accolades from your peers or institutions feel good? Absolutely, but those can be limited and sporadic over a lifetime in the arts. Don’t let anyone tell you what your success looks like.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alisonhiltner.com/ and https://www.soovac.org/
• Instagram: @alisonhiltner and @soovac
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ahiltner3415 and https://www.youtube.com/@soovisualartscenter8686

Image Credits

All of the images are courtesy of Alison Hiltner. The following is the titles of the work by the image number:
01- It is Yesterday
02- Tethers
04- We Have Merely Been Detected
05 and 06- Conversations About Time
08-09- My Darling Companions