Andre Brodyk’s transgenic bioart pieces were a centerpiece to the theme of ‘Life in the Age of Biotechnology’ at the Multispecies Salon. In his work entitled ‘Alzheimer’s Portraits’ he enlisted the help of transgenic bacteria to paint the faces of Alzheimer’s patients in petri dishes.
The transgenic bacteria that Brodyk created to paint these portraits included “non-sense” regions of the human genome, or, in popular parlance, “junk DNA.” He isolated a 158 base-pair fragment from the human gene for apolipoprotein E (APOE), a protein that helps to carry fat in the bloodstream. One form of this gene, APOE ε4, is associated with a marginal increase in the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s. Instead of using DNA that actually codes for the protein, however, Brodyk chose his fragment from one of the four segments that are regarded as junk, since they have not been ascribed a biological function.
Genetic junk interests Brodyk since it lies at the very edge of the boundary between living and inanimate matter. “Can non-coding DNA be given a new lease of life through modern biotech processes?” he asks. The uncertain hopes Brodyk places in these genetic fragments, speaks to broader dreams and nightmares that are orbiting around emergent forms of life.
Brodyk’s artwork overall provokes serious questions on how we co-exist with genetic forms of life and how art reframes our relationships to lifeforms that have otherwise been the subjects of scientific research. Brodyk uses bioart as a transformative process where genes used as creative tools are just as valid in informing our perceptions of what constitutes life in the age of biotechnology.
See also: Life & Biotechnology
Further Reading
Kirksey, Eben et al. (2014) “The Age of Biotechnology” in The Multispecies Salon, Durham: Duke University Press, pp. 181-183.
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