Research Fellows in the Tissue Engineering and Organ Fabrication Lab at Harvard
Extended body: Technologically augmented life.
Took a bunch of cells, create a biomass - a semi-living/sublife/neoorganism. It is orphaned and abandoned by the classification system because it is no longer a part of the Original vessel that it came out of. Transparent vessel reminiscent of an eighteenth century curiosity cabinet,
Garment became an expressive tool to project one's identity, social class, political stand and so on. Garments are humans' fabrication and can be explored as a tangible example of humans' treatment of the Other. By growing Victimless Leather, the Tissue Culture & Art (TC&A) Project is further problematising the concept of garment by making it Semi-Living.
Part of a larger bio-art initiative. Symbiotica: SymbioticA is an artistic laboratory dedicated to the research, learning, critique and hands-on engagement with the life sciences. cell biologist Professor Miranda Grounds, neuroscientist Professor Stuart Bunt and artist Oron Catts. Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr from the Tissue Culture and Art Project (TC&A) had been working as artists/researchers in residence in the School of Anatomy and Human Biology and the Lions Eye Institute since 1996. The shared vision of Grounds, Bunt and Catts for a permanent space for artists to engage with science in various capacities led to the building of the artists’ studio/lab on the second floor of the School of Anatomy and Human Biology at The University of Western Australia. Most crucial is SymbioticA’s efforts to maintain the relationships between artists and scientists in balance – a task that absorbs much creative energy from the core artists running the structure, Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr, from the Tissue Culture & Art project. Besides welcoming other artists, dealing with the obligatory ethics approvals and health and safety related issues, the core team of artists also offer classes in “Biological Arts” for undergraduate students, as well as the unique specialized “Biological Arts Masters program”.