evolutionn (2005). From left to right: Surviving Extremes, Sea
Currents, DNA + oil, Production of Molecular Chimeras. 80” x 20”
each. Enamel, acylic, digital print. Images courtesy of the artist.
neered to eat crude oil. This patent on a genetically modified bacterium was granted with the
reasoning that its characteristics were significantly different from those found in nature.
Although the invention was not successful in
cleaning up the oil spill, the Diamond Chakrabarty patent application became a landmark case
(1980). Historian of science Daniel Kevles has
written extensively about this patent, pointing out that the question of intellectual property rights in living organisms was becoming
a high-stakes field in economic terms. Kevles
elaborated how economic interests operating in
tandem with changes in science and technology
has shaped the patenting of life.
ics, the individual within an environment,
and biotechnology and energy industries. The
patents and images included show that almost
every inch of the permafrost and land above
and below it has been claimed as intellectual
property. On the left, Surviving Extremes shows
the life of a hearty individual that I met at the
Arctic Circle. To survive, he hunts wildlife for
food. Sea Currents is second from the left; in it,
I portray the impact of industries on the Arctic environment, Haliburton, among them. To
its right is DNA + Oil; it features text from the
famed Chakrabarty patent. At the far right is
Production of Molecular Chimeras, including forms
morphed by cellular automata.
In evolutionn, I transformed images from
registered patents that were pertinent to Arctic exploitation. In each case, the most recent
invention has adapted some aspect of a past
innovation for a different use. These processes
internalize feedback. You can trace them backward in time, but you can’t predict them going
forward. The works deal with the Arctic from
different vantage points, including econom-
PS: In Change Blindness, a piece showcased in
Colonizing Plato’s Cave, you juxtapose two visualizations of urban settings that are colored over by
algorithmic representations of microbes found during Hurricane Sandy. The piece invites viewers to
compare the two images and regard both the personal
and biological consequences of Sandy. What specific
elements about Change Blindness imply interaction
between the art and viewer?
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