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Nitrianska Galeria's Bunker in Slovakia will be hosting the show, "3rd Culture," from March 21 through May 5, 2013. Curated by: Martina Ivicic.

Working with laboratory technologies allows artists like myself to make creative work and at the same time comment on the state of biotechnology and its effects on society.

My short video of the creative process is shown with photo documentation of the art pieces. The artist discussion panel, held March 21, was open to the public and many audience members had insightful questions. There was one question that I'd like to highlight that probably resonates with all the artists in the field of bio-media art.

When asked, "Where is the art in your work when you are involved with so much of the science of it?"

My response is that artwork is in the storytelling that emerges from the process and reveals itself in the final visual presentation. I could have made abstract sculptures with skin tissue and it would still be art because laboratory methods were used in a novel way, but the Living Sculpture Series was more personal than any other work I've ever done. It is important to read the accompanying text to understand why I did it. The story is complex, indeed.

I was immersed in the science of figuring out how to make the skin cells survive outside of the traditional laboratory, but found myself to be in a wonderful in-between space that is neither solely scientific nor artistic. What came out was personal symbolism that I created for each hymen, which meant something special to me and my experience. The hymens are about putting myself into the artwork, literally. The use of the cell lines from animals, female and male humans fuses different genders and species into a cooperative work. That is one part of the story. The other part of the story finishes with the visitor-- this part I cannot dictate. A visitor will have their own interaction with the piece, make their own conclusions or raise more questions about biotechnology or identity. That visitor will pass to the next person their story and what they've learned about themselves.

For the film, go to: http://phoresis.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36:hymnext&catid=28:bioart&Itemid=2

Show link: http://nitrianskagaleria.sk/event/tretia-kultura/?lang=en

Martina Ivicic with gallery visitors.

The Living Sculpture Series: HymNext video installation.

 

 

Statement

Created artwork and text develops from my response to the interaction between social and scientific cultures. The activities of extending life, facilitating death and maintaining homeostasis are characteristic to all living matter within their respective environments. Human cultural values, like organic bodies, also go through processes that will determine perpetuation or decline. Human values and scientific values are not exempt from the other's influence in the progression of either realms.

In the experimental context, the systems of the macro/micro body are in constant conversation with proximal stimulus, which includes the researcher who may influence any of the biological phenomena. Emerging evidence from the use of technology and scientific method will affect the researcher's expectation and preconception of the subject matter. By combining laboratory and traditional medias, the creative process expands, providing novel methods for art-making and invention. Developed artwork and text from these interests in turn encourage public inquiry and education about scientific research.

The artwork provides the viewing audience of all intellectual levels to access the applied language, issues and tools in a public forum, via physical or virtual presentation, allowing for critical thinking or exchange of opinions. As an artist, researcher and medical professional, I position myself in the middle of philosophical and technical conventions, to facilitate mediation and understanding of how scientific development affect diverse cultural values in modern society.

- Julia Reodica

 

-phoresis

Definition: indicating a transmission
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek phoresis, act of carrying, from phorein, to carry or wear.
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2004)

A method of separating substances, especially proteins, and analyzing molecular structure based on the rate of movement of each component in a colloidal suspension while under the influence of an electric field.(The American Heritage Dictionary, 2000)

Act of "carrying" where organisms attach objects or other organisms to their bodies for the purpose of camouflage.
(defined by Practical Fishkeeping, UK, 2008)

A biological association in which one organism is transported by another, as in the attachment  of the eggs of Dermatobia hominis, a human and cattle botfly, to the legs  of a mosquito, which transports them to the human, cattle, or other host in which the botfly larvae can develop.
(www.cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk, 1995-98)