Bioart: The Skin is an Open Book
Scientific discoveries and technological advancement have made room for creativity to flourish. Scientists are not the only ones interested in discovering better methods to simulate skin; artists are also experimenting with different techniques to produce original synthetic tissues. The reasons for doing so are diverse. However, their interest in science and art is mutual.
Here are three artists that use the skin as their premise to create intriguing and bizarre artworks.
1. The Cryobook Archives by Tagny Duff
Tagny Duff is a Canadian artist currently working as a professor at Concordia University. In 2009 she began her project titled The Cryobook Archives, where she created a series of books that used covers made of human and swine tissue combined with Lentivirus (the one responsible for HIV). Her idea came from Anthropodermic Bibliopegy, which was the practice of making book covers with human skin. The skin was usually taken from the corpses of criminals or mentally ill patients, not only to preserve books but also to honor and remember the deceased. In The Cryobook Archives, however, the human skin was donated by a patient undergoing plastic surgery. She used the traditional bookbinding method, but instead of using thread to bind the paper to the cover, she used surgical stitches and catgut sutures. For the cover designs, she created a couple of book stamps with an HIV symbol. The result was miniature books that looked like something Doctor Frankenstein would have in his laboratory.
The work reflects on the technical advances that have allowed us to transport tissues, organs, and other bodily matters from one country to another. It is also a reflection of the knowledge we have acquired through the studies of microscopic organisms.
2. Semi-Living Worry Dolls by Ionat Zurr and Oron Catts
Ionat Zurr and Oron Catts are two Australian artists and founders of the Tissue Culture & Art Project. Established in 1996, Tissue Culture & Art Project seeks to further develop techniques to create synthetic tissue for artistic purposes. Included in this project was Semi-Living Worry Dolls. The project consists of a series of incubators where small dolls are placed and through the process of symbiosis “become alive”. They got their inspiration from the Guatemalan Worry Dolls tradition. It is said that these dolls serve as confidants for children. Zurr and Catts used the liquid inside a patient’s knee to create the tissue for their dolls and used surgical sutures to shape their bodies. They would also feed the dolls with bacteria once they were placed in the museum so that the public could witness their growth.
Since they were working with microbes the artists could not take the dolls with them. So every time the exhibition was over, they needed to “kill” the dolls. At the end of each exhibition, the viewers were allowed to touch the dolls. However, the doll’s life would come to an abrupt end because of the bacteria we carry in our hands. The project was an unusual approach to reflect on life and death.
3. Biopensamiento del Ser Alterno by Gabriela Punín and Rubén Maya
Gabriela Punín is an Ecuadorian artist who has been experimenting with tissue culture since she began her artistic career. For her, the skin serves as physical memory seen through scars, tattoos, wrinkles, etc. Having found her inspiration, she began developing a material that could resemble the skin. Her interest went beyond creating only a membrane to cover her art pieces; she was also interested in making tissue for prosthetics. After some experimentation, she found that by combining yucca peel and banana peel she could create a chemical compound that would serve as a bed for bacteria to grow. After a month, the microorganisms would have built a thick layer to be used as a synthetic epidermis. Although her initial desire was to present the skin as the window to someone’s personal story, in later years her work has evolved and moved towards embodying Heidegger’s philosophy of existentialism. Her work Biopensamiento del Ser Alterno includes traces of this philosophy. In collaboration with Mexican artist Rubén Maya, she displayed a series of sculptures covered with synthetic tissue.
Through this work, artists Punín and Maya propose that the essence lies in the organism as a whole. The exhibition is an invitation to question and decipher our existence and to look beyond the skin when analyzing ourselves and others.
The works presented here have raised significant questions. Some have wondered if it is safe to be working with viruses like in Duff’s The Cryobook Archives or if it is safe to transport synthetic tissues overseas. In a way, the objective of these artworks was also to explore the boundaries between what is safe inside a lab and what is safe outside of it. Of course, all of these artists work with other scientists in the process, thus ensuring that no dangerous agents reach the public.
Although these artworks can be grotesque and of dubious nature, they demonstrate the endless possibilities that art and science can achieve when combined.
