Angela Fragkou*
This article presents two case studies in which life science phenomena are reassessed, during the project based artistic research I conducted as a PhD student. As an artist and life scientist, I acknowledge the valuable contribution of time in the continuous reshaping of my worldview. Structural color resulting from the genetic modification of a non- pathogenic colony of flavobacteria and the lyotropism phenomenon of liquid crystals of synthetic biomolecules are the two case studies. What they have in common is the fact that the change in the self-organization of the microcosm is perceived through the change in color and form. A new perspective on the behavior of living matter is formed, with a multitude of correlations of different fields. At the same time, through the creation of a database, the research maps the interaction between the life sciences and contemporary art. Projects include the artistic practice of the archive supported by digital media, experimentation with the synthesis of liposomes, the organization of an interdisciplinary workshop, collaboration with the pharmaceutical nanotechnology laboratory and with the iGEM biotechnology team. Metzger's “auto-destructive” art movement is re-approached and connections with Prigogine and Stengers' book “Order out of Chaos” emerge. Issues of reinterpreting the human and the non-human, being and becoming, the artificial and the natural are raised. The artistic mediation of biological phenomena is related to Nagel's thought that on the counterpoint of the excessive and reductive objectification of the sciences, there is a reconciliation of man with his personal inner perspective.
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