February-March 2013 // La Bohème: A Portrait of Our Oceans in Peril
An exhibit of work by environmental artist Mara G. Haseltine.
Co-Director of Short Film La Bohème presented in agnès b. Galerie Boutique 50 Howard Street NYC 10013
Opening: February 28, 2013
June-September 2012 // Epigenetics Reset
A dOCUMENTA (13) exhibit reflecting about our view on human genetic material and ist modification by nutrition, copying and delocating it.
ABOUT dOCUMENTA (13)
In the summer of 2012 dOCUMENTA (13) opened in Kassel, Germany a cultural event of world standing where over 200 international artists were invited. I was asked to participate as an assistant video artist to the Alexander Takarakhosky‘s exhibit entitled “Epigenetic Reset”.
PARTICIPATION
My work consisted in the creation of a DNA sequencing video, a lecture series illustrated by drawings from Dr. Tarakhosky, on display as part of the exhibit and general oversight on the assembly of the exhibit as a whole.
Alexander Tarakhovsky is a geneticist who specializes in epigenetics, a branch of biology that studies how new characteristics are developed and propagated in organisms.
Epigenetics Video from Imaginal Disc on Vimeo.
Seq Video Demo (4:3 Letterboxed) from Imaginal Disc on Vimeo.
Elements part of the exhibit included:
PCR Machine // 80,000 Eppendorf tubes containing a mixture of 80,000 Genes from 80,000 people // DNA Sequencing Video // Lecture about Epigenetics on monitor // Paintings by Salvador Dali (L’Espagne & Le Grand Paranoique).
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT “EPIGENETIC RESET”:
“Seeking himself to achieve some semblance of provocation, Tarakhovsky took advantage of the average individual’s understanding- or, better said, lack of understanding- of genetics in general. To create unease among viewers, Tarakhovsky presented a PCR machine, used in the laboratory to produce copies of a specific DNA sequence, and claimed that the DNA inside was that of “someone who suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder.” The machine was placed alongside a display of 80,000 tubes (signifying the number of working genes in each cell) filled with a mixture of DNA that Tarakhovsky claimed was obtained from 80,000 individuals- with names on each one.
The machine, already toying with the notion of endless repetition magnifying individuality, often associated with DNA, to the point of absurdity, also is an homage to Michel Duchamp. Duchamp’s presentation of a urinal, or pissoir, as a piece of art, is recalled here in the pronunciation of the acronym PCR. Amplifying a gene “to maximum nonsense” was Tarakhovsky’s way of “resetting” the game, of undermining stability and memory, and of pointing out the human tendency to regard DNA as quintessentially individual. A projection of DNA sequencing, represented by flashes of little dots and surrounded by two Dalí paintings rounds out the exhibition, prompting viewers to once again reinforce their unease by suspecting that the DNA is being read, a reaction Tarakhovsky finds highly amusing.