Public lecture by ReWrite project partner Jane Calvert, Edinburgh
Abstract: In this presentation I discuss the Synthetic Aesthetics project, which paired six artists and designers with six synthetic biologists, and tasked them with investigating design in synthetic biology. What came out of it was a diverse collection of work, including an architecturally-inspired exploration of how biology ‘computes’ through shape and form, a reflection on synthetic biology from the humbling perspective of geological time, and an experiment in cheese-making, using bacteria that grow on human skin. As a social scientist on the project, I found that working with artists and designers enriched my research by extending my critical capacities for engaging with synthetic biology and its promised futures.
The research project ReWrite: New Knowledge to navigate the rewriting of human/nature relations through genome editing in the search for sustainable food is funded by the Norwegian Research Council’s SAMKUL program (“Samfunnsutviklingens kulturelle forutsetninger”). It is owned by GenØk, and Department of Philosophy, UiT is partner. The project aims to produce humanities-based knowledge relevant to the development, use and regulation of the new and controversial genome editing techniques. The project employs art-based research and will offer scholarships to artists who want to produce work that engages with the art/science relations and the debate over genome editing's role in sustainable food futures. Trine Antonsen will introduce the project before Calvert's lecture.