Bioteknica: Consumers order designer organisms

robert winters

As science pushes deeper into the human genetic code, the ethical implications of possible cloning and breeding experimentation become so dizzying that many choose to ignore them.

This is why two Concordia artists, Shawn Bailey and Jennifer Willet, devised an ambitious project to get people thinking about the research done by biotechnology companies.

They were awarded a grant of almost $200,000 over three years by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.The grant, which began in June, was awarded under a pilot program for research and creation in the fine arts.

Bailey, an associate professor in the print media program, and Willet, who has taught art theory and print media for six years, are the artist/researchers behind Bioteknica, a fictitious corporation that pretends to conduct research aimed at producing what Willet calls “designer organisms based on consumer demand.”

Bioteknica poses questions about the future of biotechnology, and the moral issue of our relation to nature and living organisms. It has a website (www.bioteknica.org) where visitors can mix up virtual vials of genetic components, such as “dermaplasm,” to come up with new fictitious organisms.

After indicating how much of each genetic liquid you want to include in your mix, you push the website button marked “breed.” A double-helix animation shows the “breeding” taking place, and the new “organism” appears on the screen. The new, rather grotesque organisms are supposedly made up of different types of body tissue.

To avoid confusion, the Bioteknica website has a disclaimer that clearly indicates its fictitious nature, but also makes it clear that this is serious business.

The mock specimens created in Bioteknica’s virtual lab are based on the teratoma, “an unusual cancerous growth containing multiple human tissues like hair, skin and teeth,” the website says.

In fact, the teratoma is a very real, little known type of cyst that is surprisingly common, Willet said. Until the 1960s, teratomas were baptized by the Catholic Church after their removal from the body, she said. “They are not rare, but the general policy for hospitals and doctors is that they are not shown to patients.”

In some cases, teratomas include nervous tissue and respond to stimuli after removal from the body, Willet said.

Teratomas are genetically identical to humans, making them key in cloning research. Several biotech companies have been working with teratomas for years, although public awareness of this is slight – for now.

Bailey and Willet promoted their project at home, with a show at the high-tech SAT space in October, and abroad, at Break 2.3, an international media arts festival in Slovenia in November that focused on bio-art.

They are now in Australia for a six-month stint at Symbiotica, an art-science research centre, growing cells from a sample of Shawn’s tissue. The cells will be destroyed at the end of the research.

For Bailey, a member of Concordia’s Hexagram research project, ethical considerations are crucial when treading in the sensitive area of human cell research, whether its purpose is artistic or scientific. “We wouldn’t modify an organism and call it art,” he said.

Bioteknica is also about respect for the natural beauty of the human body. Willet, who did anatomical drawing with Bailey at the University of Calgary’s anatomy lab, said it’s astonishing how colourful the human body is beneath the skin.

“The human body [below the skin] is like a tropical fish, it’s so full of colours.”