Genetically Engineered Sound Garden from: http://ornamism.com/2010/08/
The debate around Genetic Engineering is currently centered around vital issues such as food, healthcare and the environment. However, we have been shaping nature for thousands of years, not only to suit our needs, but our most irrational desires. Beautiful flowers, mind altering weeds and crabs shaped like human faces all thrive on these desires, giving them an evolutionary advantage. By presenting a fantastical acoustic garden, a controlled ecosystem of entertainment, I aim to explore our cultural and aesthetic relationship to nature, and to question its future in the age of Synthetic Biology.
Scientific Advisors:
– Christina Agapakis, PhD Candidate, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Harvard University. Oscillator
– Kirsten Jensen, Research Associate and James Chapell, PhD Candidate,Macromolecular Structure and Function Research Group, Division of Molecular Biosciences, Imperial College London
Thanks to:
Tommaso Lanza, Tim Olden, Emily Hayes, James Brown and PJ Steiner at the Haseloff Lab, Cambridge
Singing flower. Because the parasite diverts the plant’s energy for its own purposes, only small flowers manage to grow.
Modified Agrobacterium takes sugars and nutrients from the host plant to encourage the growth of parasitic galls and fill them with gas to produce sound.
See: Silvery Acres from David Benqué on Vimeo.
All text and images from David Benque.