Elke Jacobsen :: Projects

Statement:

In the past decade, the rise of biotechnology has evolved our concept of DNA from a promising enigma of nature, to the infallible “code of life” that can be mastered and read like words in an extensive operator’s manual. We have lost touch with the biological aspect of DNA – all the life and organisms it conducts, the patterns of number abounding in nature, the subtle similarities between species – in our quest to “decode” this vital molecule and to access Nature’s database. In a similar fashion, we have grown increasingly dependent on the answers and cures being in our genes, hoping that nature trumps nurture in changing our futures. I wanted to explore the natural phenomena of DNA, getting away from the sterile laboratory mindset and observing the mystifying subtleties of DNA’s role in nature. I also wanted to incorporate the nature-nurture issue, emphasizing the importance of social factors in empirical arenas such as science, economics, etc.

I chose light and projection as the medium in order to capture the effect of the environment on the sequence’s appearance, or phenotype. With this medium, I could also order the bases according to some natural number pattern or shape, thus incorporating the natural phenomena concept. After exhausting the Fibonacci Sequence, I decided to use butterfly wings as the pattern for the 100 base sample sequence, as this shape naturally occurs in financial analysis (“butterfly charts”), population growth patterns, and of course the animal kingdom. In addition, butterfly wings are only one cell layer thick, each cell being a pigmented scale on a fragile framework; thus I could compose the winged pattern on my artwork so that one colored outlet of light represents one base of the sequence. I drafted the sequence along the horizontals that make up the wing pattern (as seen on the concept sketches) so that both wings are symmetrical with 200 bases in total. I grafted the pattern onto one of the Plexiglas domes, and the mutated sequence on the opposing dome. Once joined and placed on the lamp base, the light shines through the globe and projects each sequence on opposite walls – objects or surface textures affect the appearance of the winged image, simulating the environment’s effects on genotype.

Since the basic structure and medium were my primary inspirations, my project hinged on fitting the representation to this globe-light structure. Difficulty came with finding a pattern that would be feasible to inscribe on a globe, which then depended on the material from which globe was constructed. Fibonnacci patterns and other hexagonal DNA data sets that I researched proved ineffective for the Plexiglas and hand-drilling method I had settled for, so I turned to butterfly wings. This pattern mandated more creativity in ordering the bases than I had anticipated, which later became useful in mutating the sequence. Upon completion, the image projected was much smaller than I had conceptualized, and this dampens the effect of the work in my opinion. With a larger time and financial budget, however, I could alter the lamp base and the corresponding portion of the globe to enhance the projection. If I were able to use a spiral Fibonacci sequence, combining both the mutated and the normal sequences into one contravening spiral, the projection would be perfect yet a different material would be needed for the globe – this was another frustration with the limitations of the sequence as preexisting structure. Overall, however, the artwork still conveys my original intent, albeit on a more compact scale.

Original Sequence:

Mutated Sequence:

Genetic Art Proposal