ABOUT THE PROJECT
In Spirit Molecule, artists Heather Dewey-Hagborg and Phillip Andrew Lewis explore new possibilities in gene editing and resurging interest in the medicinal use of psychotropic plants toward the creation of a genetic memorial. Collaborating with researchers in the MSU Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the artists sought to engineer human DNA into a plant that could be consumed as part of a final journey of intimacy with a lost loved one.
Fathomers supported Spirit Molecule, which was organized by the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University and curated by associate curator Steven L. Bridges. The exhibition ran from June 8 to Sept. 29, 2019.
For more information, visit Field Station: Spirit Molecule.
Clockwise: Heather Dewey-Hagborg and Philip Andrew Lewis, Michigan State University, 2019.(Photo: Aaron Word)/Field Station: Spirit Molecule, installation view at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, 2019. (Photo: Steven Bridges)/ Genetically modified moss, Michigan State University, 2019.(Photo: Aaron Word). At top of page: Field Station: Spirit Molecule, 2019. (Photo: Steven Bridges)
ARTIST BIOS
Heather Dewey-Hagborg is a transdisciplinary artist and educator whose controversial bio-political projects include Stranger Visions, in which she created portrait sculptures from analyses of genetic material (hair, cigarette butts, chewed-up gum) collected in public places. She exhibits internationally, having shown at the World Economic Forum, the Shenzhen Urbanism and Architecture Biennale, the Van Abbemuseum, Transmediale, and PS1 MOMA, and her work is held in the public collections of the Centre Pompidou, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the New York Historical Society, among others. Dewey-Hagborg has a PhD in Electronic Arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is artist-in-residence at the Exploratorium, in San Francisco; artist fellow at AI Now; an affiliate of Data & Society; and co-founder and co-curator of REFRESH, an inclusive and politically engaged collaborative platform at the intersection of art, science and technology.
Phillip Andrew Lewis is an artist working in a variety of media including photography, video, objects and sound. His creative research often responds to historical events, psychology, and phenomenology. This work consistently examines duration, perceptual limits and attentive observation. Lewis is actively involved in collaboration with artists and various groups and has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally.
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