Projects & Papers
Nature and the Figure (c.2016)
Nature and the Figure explores the hidden characteristics and potential of pre-existing text. Accompanied with a gel electrophoresis counterpart (see Bio Art), this text autonomously supplies itself with its own genetic code, based on a formula set forth by the artist. Erasure is a form of found poetry or found object art created by erasing words from an existing text in prose or verse and framing the result on the page as a final piece. In gel electrophoresis, a laboratory method is used to separate mixtures of DNA, RNA, or proteins according to molecular size. In lieu of molecular size, the artist substitutes letter quantities in-between the kept text. The chosen text after the act of erasure stand in as the DNA make up, allowing a biological counting process to be administered as it would be when analyzing and reading strands of coded DNA, thus producing a visual translation in a similar form to that of a gel electrophoresis process.