| Statement:
Over the past couple of years, I’ve
started to be really interested in history of racial and disabled
minorities. Especially fascinating are the cultures they’ve
developed for themselves to survive amongst a technology laden dominant
culture that seems to move at a blink of an eye. If we delve even
farther, we begin to pick up on the many characteristics that parallel
our changing culture to the constantly progressive subcultures of
these minorities. Their perpetual struggle to combat social, economic,
and political adversity mimics our revolutionary biotechnology front
that has had to face all sorts of public condemnation and criticism.
The advocates for this groundbreaking new science were initially
few in number, but as they began proving their determination and
cause, they gained respect and support. This type of movement was
similar to the fight for the rights of the blind, the handicapped,
the deaf, and the disabled. As a small percent of the population,
it was hard to get the recognition from the public to support their
interests.
When the Human Genome Project was originally
proposed, it was received with laughter and speculation. Not even
science gurus could fathom the possibility of accomplishing such
an enormous feat. The pioneering team went against all odds to start
an entire movement of DNA sequencing and gene mapping. Now, over
15 years and millions of dollars later, the entire human genome
is sequenced- more than 3 billion A, T, C, and G’s are given
to the once intangible building blocks of our lives. Similarly,
the rights and interests of the blind population have increased
dramatically over the last couple of decades. There are audible
street signals, Braille books printed in large quantities, Braille
written on most public places, blind dogs being trained, and technological
advancements made for the sole purpose of possibly reversing or
lessening blindness.
From these parallels I have created my artwork,
“Braille for the Next Generation”, a piece that brings
forth the connection between the sequenced human genome with the
Braille alphabet. Before any biotechnology was invented, scientists
had no idea how we could extract our phenotypes from our genes.
How could a mass of DNA encode for human life? We were “blind”
to how our DNA could dictate the form and function of every single
cell in our bodies. Like how Braille enables blind people to read
and understand the written word, the sequenced genome will help
the scientists discover which segments code for which genes in our
body. The assortment of A’s, T’s, C’s, and G’s
are read, as Braille is read, to understand something that was once
unfamiliar, but can now be interpreted and appreciated.
During my entire creative process, I kept
juggling ideas around in my mind about how I could intertwine both
fundamental aspects of my work- how the ability to discern DNA sequences
are similar to how Braille is a blind person’s form of communication.
After a long and tedious period of no inspiration, an idea suddenly
dawned on me. I wanted to create an artwork that was very visual
and hands-on at the same time. The A’s, T’s, C’s
and G’s of the normal and mutated sequences were all replaced
with the respective Braille representation of the letters and sent
to a Braille machine on campus to be printed. In addition, I created
a magnified version of 9 complementary base pairs by using Styrofoam
balls that took the form of the DNA strands.
For the normal sequence, I wanted only the
Braille on the poster board and the white balls to be illuminated.
Towards this end, I hand painted each bump of Braille with whiteout
and colored the toothpicks that were holding together the double
strand black. The audience will be able to touch the DNA sequence
and strand as they become part of the artwork itself. With the black
light in place and the lights turned off, only the white Braille
will be lit up. This symbolizes how Braille helps blind people “see”
the written word and how the DNA sequence helps scientists “see”
our genetic composition. And despite the “darkness”
– the obstacles and hardships that both groups have faced
– the goal is evident and tangible.
For the mutated sequence, I deleted only
the first base pair of the sequence and kept everything else the
same. This deletion caused a very detrimental frameshift, that if
occurring in our own body, could cause the creation of all the wrong
proteins. Hypothetically speaking, if this mutation coded for the
gene for blindness, the afflicted person would not be able to see.
Here, the scroll still has the Braille DNA sequence inscribed in
it, but the audience no longer has the privilege of sight. This
is where the artwork becomes truly hands-on, as the only way to
decipher the sequence is to feel the Braille itself and from this,
extract its meaning. The Styrofoam balls, toothpicks, and Braille
are kept black so the black light won’t pick up on any white.
This imitates the actual condition of blindness and elicits a sense
of unfamiliarity and discomfort that is often felt in new and unusual
environments. The mutated sequence is not meant to be inferior to
the normal sequence. In fact, they have exactly the same design,
save for the difference in black and white colors. My decision to
make only one change in the sequence for the mutated version was
to illustrate how much of a difference mutations can make. Because
the vertically hanging DNA strands are magnifications of the same
location on the DNA strand, we can see just how drastic the deletion
of one base pair is. Although we don’t know what which part
of the genome codes for blindness yet, it could very well be a series
of minute mutations like the one I illustrated. The point I am trying
to illustrate from the mutated sequence is that the difference between
person to person is so miniscule that it’s not fair to discriminate
against minority populations when their genetic composition is so
similar to ours. |
